Chelsea will host Mourinho’s Manchester United in FA Cup quarterfinals
By George Perry
Jose Mourinho will make a second showing at Stamford Bridge, bringing Manchester United for the FA Cup quarterfinals. Chelsea will hopefully show him the same hospitality and outcome as they did in October.
Oh, the football gods and the magic of the FA Cup and all the rest. Lincoln City’s historic run will take a backseat in the quarterfinals. Chelsea will steal the headlines as once again they host Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. Pedro, get your from-the-whistle shooting boots on.
Chelsea are the last team to defeat Manchester United in the Premier League, 4-0 on 23 October. Since then United as a club and as individuals have become increasingly more dangerous. Manchester have lost only to Hull in that span, the second leg of an EFL Cup tie that United won on aggregate.
Manchester United play at Wembley next weekend, taking on Southampton for the EFL Cup. If United come away with the trophy, talk of a poor-man’s treble will reach a fever pitch. United are alive and in strong position in Europa League as well as the two domestic cups. With the Premier League title all but out of reach, United may place extra emphasis on accumulating the secondary trophies this season.
Antonio Conte demonstrated against Wolves that he is taking the FA Cup seriously, even as Chelsea’s title chase reaches a critical stage. He played five of his Premier League starters against Wolves. Between United’s form and the intensity of this rivalry, Conte may well play his full Premier League XI.
Asmir Begovic’s position is particularly in jeopardy after the Wolves match. Despite the clean sheet, Begovic was sloppy and slow in his ball-handling and decision-making. He made the kind of mistakes that you can get away with against Wolves, but that are fatal against Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Next: Antonio Conte, John Terry motivated by FA Cup upsets
The quarterfinal tie will be four years – possibly to the day – as the last time Chelsea and Manchester United met in the FA Cup. The two sides drew 2-2 at Old Trafford. Chelsea won the replay 1-0 at home, with Demba Ba netting an all-time highlight reel goal to advance the Blues.