Chelsea will face Southampton in the semifinal of the FA Cup on Sunday. On the other hand, Arsenal will face West Ham United in the Premier League on the same day. Both the matches will be highly interesting with the season coming to it’s closing stage. The London based duo will want to secure wins from their fixtures, as they look to make a major impact before the season ends. Wenger has already announced that he will be leaving the Emirates at the end of the current campaign, meaning that the players must perform at their very best from here on to make him proud.
Arsenal vs West Ham United (Premier League)
Team News :
Arsenal :
Petr Cech will play as the goalkeeper for the Gunners. Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny and Monreal will be there in the defense for them. The midfield of Arsenal will comprise of two defensive midfielders Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny. Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck will play as attacking midfielders in the team for the Gunners while Pierre Emerick Aubameyang will be there as the lone man upfront for them. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is injured; so he will be out of contention from the Starting XI of the Gunners against West Ham United in this match. Ainsley Maitland Niles is also another doubt in this match for Arsenal due to injury problem. David Ospina is also out of contention with an ankle injury problem. Granit Xhaka came back from the injury he was sustaining in the midweek.
Predicted Starting Eleven :
Arsenal :(3-4-3)
Goalkeeper : Cech
Defenders : Koscielny, Mustafi, Chambers.
Midfielders : Bellerin, Wilshere, Ramsey, Kolasinac.
Attackers : Ozil, Welbeck ; Aubameyang.
My Predicted Scoreline :
Arsenal 3-1 West Ham United.
Chelsea vs Southampton (FA Cup Semi Final)
Team News :
Chelsea :
Andreas Christensen will be available for the Blues after missing the previous match. David Luiz is unavailable due to knee injury. Thibaut Courtois will yet again surely start in goal while Christensen, Azpilicueta and Rudiger might start for Chelsea in a three man central defense, while Moses and Alonso will be there at two flanks. Fabregas and Kante will always be present in the heart of the midfield for Chelsea. Willian, Giroud and Hazard will be there upfront for the Blues against, which will be a boost for Antonio Conte and his plans of beating Southampton.
Southampton:
Fraser Forster can possibly make the difference on the night if he is able to keep out the opposition strikers and prevent them from scoring goals at the start of the game and can keep his team in it, at crucial times.
The defence will once again comprise of Soares, Yoshida, Stephens and Bertrand, who will have their work cut-out for them on the night. It will be really tough to keep the hosts out, though they will try their best to do so. Oriol Romeu and Lemina will play as defensive midfielders while Tadic, Davis and Boufal will play in the attacking midfield position for the Saints. Shane Long might get a start at the upfront for the Saints against the Blues in this match.
Possible Starting Eleven :
Chelsea (3-4-3):
Goalkeeper : Thibaut Courtois
Defenders :Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta.
Midfielders : Victor Moses, N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Davide Zappacosta.
Attackers : Pedro, Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard.
Southampton : (4-5-1)
Goalkeeper :Fraser Forster
Defenders: Soares, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertrand
Midfielders : Oriol Romeu, Lemina, Tadic, Davies, Boufal.
Attackers: Shane Long.
My Predicted Scoreline :
Chelsea 3-0 Southampton
