FA Cup Preview: Arsenal Vs. Chelsea
Published July 27, 2020 by Sol FH
The FA Cup final is Saturday, August 1 at Wembley Stadium, and punters can catch all the action from 17:30 GMT.
The Gunners and the Blues will face-off at Wembley Stadium in the final match of the FA Cup. Arsenal battled past Manchester City in the semi-final to win 2-0 following two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Chelsea made it to the final after thumping Manchester United 3-1, including goals from Olivier Giroud, Mason Mount, and an own goal by Manchester's Harry Macguire.
The referee for the FA Cup is Anthony Taylor, who oversaw the 2017 match between the two same teams, and Arsenal won that match 2-0. Adam Nunn and Gary Beswick the two assistants, and the fourth official will be Chris Kavanagh.
Just like all matches after the return from COVID, the FA Cup finale will be played behind closed doors, and the stadium will feel especially empty with its 90,000 capacity.
As mentioned, Giroud scored in the Semi-Final against United, and he will be going against his former team in the FA Cup Final. It will be the Frenchman's Firth FA Cup after winning four. Before the Semi-Final, Giroud mentioned to his teammates that "I would love to win another one. "It would be my fifth FA Cup and we are in another final. A big game against Arsenal which will be so special for me personally."
The pressure is tight for the Gunners who need this win if they are to make it to the Europa League. They finished the Premier League season in 8th place, which means the FA Cup is the only chance they have left to make it to Europe. It was the first time in 25 years that the Gunners finished outside of the top six, and there will be a lot of critics talking about the direction the squad goes next year if they cannot beat the Blues.
Frank Lampard is insistent that his team win the hardware and a loss would be devastating for Chelsea. When he was asked if a third-place finish in the Premier League and an FA Cup victory would be viewed as a great first season at the helm, he replied, "I hope so because we want to win things, and at the start of the season we wanted to be up there challenging for the top four.
A lot of people were tipping against us, but quietly I was always hoping.
"I don't want to put everything on these three games defining everything we've done and the progress we've made, but of course we want top four, we want trophies and we're at the business end, so let's see."
FA Cup Betting Odds
It is the last chance to make a wager on English soccer until next season (September 2020) and bet365 Sports has posted odds ahead of the finale. Chelsea are slight favorites at 2.15 while the Gunners are at 3.30 and a draw at 3.40. As always, bet365 Sports will be offering live in play betting.
The odds mentioned in this article, at the bookmaker cited, were accurate at the time of its writing, Monday, July 27 at 9:45 GMT.
