That Chelsea have enjoyed an unprecedented run of success this season should come as news to no ardent football supporter.
For the majority of the 2016 – 2017, Antonio Conte has led his men in to valiant victory after valiant victory, ultimately losing only two of the 11 games they’ve played since the London derby against West Ham back on March 6th.
League Leaders
Such dominance has enabled the Stamford Bridge side to retain a stronghold at the top of the Premier League table for most of the season, and with a full ten point advantage over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea’s status as this year’s title holders is essentially inevitable.
This is particularly true when you consider that the side still have two games left with which to increase their margin even further.
This Monday, May 15, the team host Watford FC, before travelling to the Stadium of Light for their final league game of the season against David Moyes’ Sunderland.
Yet whilst that may be the last game they play in the Premier League before the summer break, there is one other game for which you have to believe Antonio Conte is going all out to prepare his squad for.
FA Cup Final
For only the second time in the historic trophy’s 145 year history, Chelsea will take on London rivals Arsenal for the FA Cup at the end of May, presenting an interesting situation for bookmakers.
Over the past several weeks, both football devotees and passionate punters alike have been heading to their bookmakers and taking advantage of online sign up bonuses such as the ones featured on this list of free betting sites by Freebets.uk, all in an effort to up the excitement factor for the May 27th encounter at Wembley.
For the bookmakers themselves however, determining the odds on favourite for the FA Cup Final hasn’t been an easy task.
On the one hand, Chelsea’s dominant form throughout the season certainly makes them more than a credible threat to any team, and if they are to carry that form on to the final, there’s little reason to doubt that the trophy will be heading home to Stamford Bridge.
On the other hand however, Arsenal’s past experience in big game environments -especially the FA Cup- can not be counted out.
The Gunners are currently tied with Manchester United for both the most cup final appearances (19), and the most FA Cup wins (12). Compare this to Chelsea’s seven wins from 11 appearances, and on experience factor alone, Arsenal may appear to be the favourites, particularly with a strong showing against the blues in their two Premier League outings this season.
Back in September, Arsene Wenger’s side took a comfortable 3 – 0 victory over their rivals at the Emirates Stadium, before putting up a strong showing in the return game at Stamford Bridge despite ultimately losing 3 – 1.
Again, this makes for an interesting scenario in which both sides are more than qualified for the role of this year’s cup winnes, though given Arsenal’s recent spell of bad luck, contrasted against Chelsea’s run-away season, most pundits seem to have their money firmly behind The Blues.
