The sun is out and Wembley awaits. Fingertips’ Seb Stafford-Bloor looks forward to this weekend’s FA Cup semi-finals.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea – Saturday
Drawing Chelsea was always going to be the short straw, and most will quite rightly not be able to see past Carlo Ancelotti’s men booking a return to Wembley next month. Other than the scoreline, the most negative aspect of Villa’s 7-1 humbling at Stamford Bridge was the apparent lack of pride – a transparent statement that the squad feel that maybe enough has already been achieved this season. That a manager with the motivational qualities of Martin O’Neill seems unable to lift the foggy malaise from over Villa Park is cause for huge concern, as much as Chelsea’s robotically consistent execution in domestic cup competitions.
Don’t expect any tactical surprises to be thrown into the contest on Saturday, Villa are able to play in only one way – and the dangers of relying on counter-attacking football against Chelsea are obvious. For all the flair and pace of Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stylian Petrov is the key to everything that Villa do well, or did well before March. As good a player as the Bulgarian is, it’s very hard to see him being able to gain a foothold in a midfield battle against the pedigree Chelsea have around the centre circle. No Petrov, no midfield temperament. It’s worth remembering also that Villa will line up with the same shape that was so unsuccessful for Manchester United last weekend – a system that caused Chelsea very few problems. Expect Alex to start alongside John Terry, the Brazilian’s physique will allow the West Londoners to nullify the threat of John Carew. No such options are available for Martin O’Neill, Villa simply do not have the personnel to cope with the guile and pace of Anelka ,nor the strength and power of Didier Drogba. James Collins and Richard Dunne have formed an impressive partnership in their first season together – but neither have the experience to deal with a football mentality as fluid as Chelsea’s. Teams that throw the ball into the box against them have been repelled with ease all season, but the intricacy afforded by the guile of Lampard, Malouda and Joe Cole will lead to a torrid afternoon.
Easy call here, Chelsea to ease through by two or three.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Portsmouth – Sunday
The neutrals will doubtless want to see the struggling Pompey get one over on Harry Redknapp, but away from Fratton Park Portsmouth are the definition of flimsy. Even with injuries the current injury crisis in the Tottenham camp, the players available to Redknapp are more than capable of progressing against a team that seems to exist on team spirit alone. Avram Grant deserves enormous credit for making his team competitive throughout the season, but one cant help but fear for them come Sunday.
Ironically, the enforced absence of Tottenham loanee Jamie O’Hara will be the biggest obstacle for Grant to overcome. O’Hara’s blend of disruptiveness and discipline would have been useful in the quest to shackle Luka Modric, and his set-piece delivery could well of been Portsmouth’s most potent weapon. As it is, Modric will probably enjoy the freedom of Wembley to tease and torment the Pompey back line.
Everywhere you look on the field, Tottenham dominate the individual match-ups, and it would be brave – and wrong – to suggest that Pompey can withstand the sum of Spurs’ attacking parts for the whole game. A newly fit Jermain Defoe, the currently unplayable Gareth Bale, and the aforementioned Modric will most probably dominate the game from start to finish. Neutrals choice they may be, but success for Portsmouth at Wembley would simply be to keep the score down.
Tottenham by at least 3.
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