Antonio Conte should approach FA Cup semi-final as if two titles are on the line

Chelsea are at the mid-point between the loss to Manchester United and the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham. Antonio Conte’s men must be ready to show why they deserve to wear Blue and become champions.

Antonio Conte won eight Serie A titles as a player and manager, and one Champions League title as a player. However, it is the runner-up finishes that stick with him the most. He lost in the finals with Italy in the 2000 European Championships and the 1994 World Cup. He is also a three-time runner-up in the Champions League with Juventus.

Conte knows far too well the edge Chelsea are riding atop the Premier League. Their lead over Tottenham is down to four points, and the momentum is entirely in Spurs’ favour. Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Spurs will have much more on the line than another trip to Wembley. It may very well decide both the FA Cup and Premier League.

"All week Antonio Conte is going to tell them ‘This is the game that you have to show me you have the desire to be a Chelsea player, the desire to be a champion.’ They will either show it or they don’t… Conte knows what it’s like to lose. He doesn’t want to do that. He needs fighters. – Travis Tyler, The Blue Lions"

After leading the Premier League for most of the season, Chelsea must now play with a sense of urgency and desperation they have neither shown nor needed this year. They cannot play as if they are comfortably protecting their lead. The Blues must pursue the title as if they were challengers. They must match Tottenham’s desire to lift the Premier League trophy.

Chelsea players should not think about the FA Cup semi-final as the next step in the tournament. They must approach it as if it were the final, not just of the FA Cup but of the Premier League. A loss on Saturday will – obviously – eliminate them from the FA Cup. But it could also signal the end of their Premier League title dreams.

The only time Chelsea played as poorly as they did against Manchester United was in September against Arsenal. In the late stages of that game Conte introduced the 3-4-3, from which he has never looked back. He will most likely stick with usual formation and tactics against Tottenham. But if Chelsea repeat the United debacle at Wembley, he may have little choice but to revamp everything for the run-in.

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Chelsea hopefully used the beginning of this week to go back to the drawing board and openly face what happened at Old Trafford. By this point, their focus must be on the two finals they will play on Saturday.