Forget about Liverpool’s quest for a quadruple in the Premier League! By defeating Liverpool in the FA Cup final on Saturday, Chelsea will be able to accomplish an unprecedented triple in English football.
The Blues have already won the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup this season, and they are looking forward to capping off the season with a victory at Wembley. After losing to Liverpool on penalties in the EFL Cup final in February, Thomas Tuchel’s team will be determined to win the match against them.
Despite this, the German, who is endowed with one of the strongest teams in Europe, would have struggled to choose his starting XI for the championship. The 2-2 draw at home against Wolves on Saturday has played a significant role in determining that. Following Chelsea’s penultimate game before the final, Mirror Football selects five players who they believe will be certain of starting at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Having scored in the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace earlier this month, the Englishman put up a strong performance in the heart of Chelsea’s midfield on Saturday. He has started six of Chelsea’s past seven Premier League games, bringing his total number of starts to six.
Despite the fact that both N’Golo Kante and Jorginho might be fit for the FA Cup final, it would be unfair to dismiss Loftus-Cheek. The 26-year-old has performed well in their absence and has more than earned the opportunity to participate in the most important game of his career to far.
Mason Mount
Mount didn’t have a chance to play against the Wolves, but he probably should have. After lacking his offensive presence on Saturday, the Blues will need a player of his calibre if they are to have any hope of creating opportunities against Jurgen Klopp’s excellent Liverpool team at Wembley Stadium on Monday.
When Christian Pulisic started against Wolves, he didn’t make a good impression on the crowd. Even though the American has showed a great deal of potential throughout his three years at Stamford Bridge, he still has a lot of work to do to establish himself as one of Tuchel’s most important players.
Marcos Alonso
As a result of Ben Chilwell’s season-ending knee injury suffered in November, Tuchel has rotated Malang Sarr and Marcos Alonso at left-back during the season. The latter has appeared in the bulk of games and has most likely done enough to be considered for a place in the FA Cup final.
Even if Alonso isn’t the finest defender in the world, he provides enough of offensive threat, which Chelsea will want against Liverpool. Prior to this weekend’s games, the Blues have generated 66 big chances in the Premier League in 2021-22, which was 27 less than the Reds.
Edouard Mendy
In cup games, it’s always tempting for managers to start their backup goalkeeper; nevertheless, Thomas Tuchel cannot afford to take that chance against Liverpool. Having put up an excellent performance against Wolves, Mendy should get the nod in place of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Except for Francisco Trincao’s spectacular left-footed goal and Conor Coady’s last-gasp header, he would have retained his clean sheet. Trincao’s strike would have been impossible to stop for any goalie.
Tuchel has a habit of selecting Mendy for the finals. His debut came in the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, Champions League, and EFL Cup finals. He was also in the final of the UEFA Europa League. In addition, he was Chelsea’s goalkeeper for their semi-final victory against Crystal Palace. Expect him to get the ball rolling at Wembley.
Romelu Lukaku
On Saturday, there was a great deal of pressure on Lukaku. He was well aware that he needed to put in a strong performance against Wolves in order to have any chance of being selected to start the final against Liverpool, and he did not disappoint, winning and scoring a penalty in the second half.
The Belgian looked sharp throughout the day, taking advantage of any opportunities that presented itself.
The evidence of this was clear shortly before half-time, when he utilised his muscle to generate a half chance and put Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa under pressure. And his second goal was even more impressive, capitalising on an unfortunate error by Coats to create a fantastic first-time finish.
Lukaku’s form has been dismal this season, with just seven league goals to his name, but the quality of the service has not been high enough. Chelsea have failed to play to his abilities, as seen by the paucity of opportunities they have generated. It’s debatable whether or not they’ll be able to get the greatest performance from Lukaku next season – or whether or not he’ll even remain at Stamford Bridge.
The German international, Timo Werner, also had a good day against Wolves. The German struck the back of the goal in the 34th minute, only for his effort to be disallowed for a minor foul on Romain Saiss, and he forced Sa into a brilliant save at the start of the second half to keep the game alive.
That leaves us with Kai Havertz, who was called in at the last minute to fill in for the rest of the team. Possibly, Tuchel was resting him ahead of the FA Cup final and, if Lukaku and Werner had failed to impress, Tuchel would’ve been confident of his starting position. Despite this, he’ll be a little concerned after Saturday’s events.
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