The CXXVIII Cupfinal: Everton vs Chelsea 16.00

quote:

FA Cup Final
Venue: Wembley Stadium Date: Saturday, 30 May Kick-off: 1500 BST
Coverage: Live on ITV1, Setanta Sports.


Frank Lampard has given Chelsea a boost by declaring himself fit for Saturday's FA Cup final against Everton.

The England midfielder sat out last week's win over Sunderland with a knock but will start at Wembley, with Alex and Juliano Belletti (virus) also fit.

Everton have also received good news on the injury front, with Phil Neville and Steven Pienaar fully fit following recent worries over hamstring problems.

That should enable David Moyes to deploy his favoured 4-5-1 formation.

The 128th FA Cup final, the 75th to be held at Wembley, pits two of England's form sides against each other.


Chelsea have suffered only one defeat in 21 games under manager Guus Hiddink, while three wins and a draw in their last four games helped the Toffees secure a top-six finish for the fourth season in five.

It is Hiddink's side who start as favourites, though, with the Londoners desperate to mark the Dutchman's final match in charge with a trophy before he resumes as manager of national side Russia in the summer.

Chelsea reached the final courtesy of a semi-final defeat of Arsenal at the same ground, while Everton beat champions Manchester United on penalties.

And the Toffees will be keen to upset the odds again on Saturday and secure what would be a sixth FA Cup trophy.

Their hopes of doing so may rest heavily on the shoulders of midfielder Tim Cahill, who has once again proven himself a key figure for Everton this season and who has been labelled the club's "new Alan Ball" by chairman Bill Kenwright.

"The first game David (Moyes) and me went to see a player, Tim Cahill was just mesmeric," said Kenwright.

"I recall him coming into my office once to just tell me how much he wanted to play for Everton. That was a great thrill for me.

"He is the prince of footballers, he is the new Alan Ball.


"He has the true spirit of Everton, the one who epitomises the never-say-die attitude of the whole squad."

Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole, meanwhile, could become the first player for more than 100 years to win five FA Cup winners medals, having won the trophy three times with Arsenal and again with Chelsea in 2007.

"It would
be a great milestone if I could get it," said the left-back. "I would be honoured to have the record. It's a great trophy to win and I would be delighted to win it five times."

quote:

Chelsea and Everton clash in the 128th FA Cup final, and the fifth 'north versus south' showpiece in six years. It is the 75th FA Cup final to be staged at Wembley Stadium and the third since its redevelopment into the largest all-covered football stadium in the world.

These clubs have won the cup nine times between them, but have never met in the final. Both are chasing their first major piece of silverware since last lifting the trophy; Chelsea, for the fourth time in 2007 and Everton for the fifth occasion in 1995.

Both managers are pursuing their first major trophy with their current clubs. David Moyes has never experienced victory over Chelsea in any competition as Everton manager; Guus Hiddick has a final opportunity to win something with Chelsea in three and a half months in temporary charge.

In each of the last four seasons, the club knocking out Middlesbrough has gone on to finish runners-up in the competition. Everton ousted the Teessiders in the quarter-finals.

It is 16 years since both teams competing in an FA Cup final at Wembley have both scored.

This year's final is being held later in the year than ever before. The previous latest (excluding replays) was 25 May 1963 when Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-1.

This is an "all-blue" final, but Chelsea will be wearing all yellow for this match, while Everton will be sporting blue shirts, white shorts and white socks.

The winners will receive £2m from the E.On sponsored prize fund; the runners-up £1m.

quote:

Op zaterdag 30 mei 2009 10:49 schreef Doc het volgende:
Best een mooie OP, maar het lijkt me dat dat ook in FA CUP 2008-2009 #3 kan. Ik geloof dat wedstrijden die niet op het "open net" zitte krijgen toch geen apart topic? Ik zie 'm in ieder geval in de pub

Voor de rest is dit gewoon ook een wedstrijd tussen twee blauwe clubs - dus tussen twee kutclubs

quote:

Op zaterdag 30 mei 2009 14:51 schreef J.F.Sebastian het volgende:

[..]

hoe?