As Chelsea slug it out with Leicester in the English FA Cup Final today 15 May, 2021, here are some info.

TEAM NEWS

Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic is fit after a five-week absence with a hamstring problem, while N’Golo Kante will start despite nursing an Achilles issue.

Goalkeeper Kepa is another confirmed starter but Andreas Christensen might not be available.

Leicester will assess the fitness of defender Jonny Evans, who has missed two games because of a heel injury.

Ricardo Pereira and James Maddison may not be risked from the start as they continue to strive for full fitness.

LAWRO’S PREDICTION

Chelsea’s midweek defeat to Arsenal opens the door a little to the teams below them in the race for the top four, especially because they are trying to win the FA Cup this weekend while their rivals play in the Premier League.

The Blues made seven changes for the Gunners game, which felt like too many to me – even with a game like this next. It obviously backfired because of the result they got.

Thomas Tuchel will pick his strongest team here though, and I think they will have too much for Leicester – the Foxes got a good win at Old Trafford on Tuesday, but that was against a weakened Manchester United side.

It will be close but, from what I’ve seen of Brendan Rodgers’ side in the past few weeks, I am not sure they have got enough about them to break down this Chelsea side.

Having around 20,000 fans back inside Wembley will help, though, especially for whichever team falls behind and needs to be lifted to come back.

I am still sticking with Chelsea to win it. They will create more chances, and they just have to take them.

Prediction: 1-0

Lawro’s full predictions v Radio 1Xtra DJ Ace

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Chelsea have won all seven previous FA Cup ties against Leicester, two of which went to a replay.
• This is the second time Leicester and Chelsea have met in a domestic cup final. The Blues won 3-2 on aggregate in the 1964-65 League Cup final.
• Leicester’s only cup victory over Chelsea was by 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the 1983-84 League Cup second round second leg. The Foxes had lost the first leg 2-0, and lost the tie on penalties.
• Chelsea are winless in six Premier League fixtures against Leicester (D4, L2). Their 2-0 defeat at King Power Stadium in January was Frank Lampard’s final league match as manager of the Blues.

Chelsea

• Chelsea have reached the FA Cup final for the fourth time in five seasons. They beat Manchester United in 2018 but lost to Arsenal in both 2017 and 2020.
• This is Chelsea’s 15th FA Cup final and they’ve won the competition eight times. Only Arsenal and Manchester United can better those two tallies.
• Seven of their eight wins in FA Cup finals were by a one-goal margin. The exception was a 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough in 1997.
• Those eight FA Cup final victories were under eight different managers.
• Thomas Tuchel will become the first German manager to lead his side out for an FA Cup final, with the Blues still yet to concede a goal under him in this season’s competition.

Leicester City

• The Foxes are the only club among the 24 top-flight champions never to have won the FA Cup.
• Leicester have equalled the club record of five consecutive FA Cup victories, set from January to April 1963.
• They have only won four of their 15 games at Wembley (D1, L10).
• Leicester are appearing in the final of a major cup competition for the first time since 2000, when they beat Tranmere 2-1 at Wembley in the League Cup final.
• Brendan Rodgers has won all six of his finals as a manager: the Championship play-off with Swansea City in 2010-11, and three League Cups and two Scottish Cups with Celtic.

BBC