Chelsea meet Crystal Palace in an all-London semi-final clash at Wembley Stadium in 2021-22 FA Cup.
Chelsea are looking to reach the FA Cup Final for the fifth time in six seasons, whereas Palace are chasing a third FA Cup Final appearance in their history.
Team News
Romelu Lukaku could return for Chelsea after recovering from an Achilles injury which has forced him to sit out their last two matches.
Ross Barkley (illness) could also feature but Callum Hudson-Odoi (Achilles) and Ben Chilwell (knee) remain absent.
Palace could welcome Michael Olise back from a foot injury which has forced the midfielder to miss their last two matches.
Will Hughes (knock) is also set to return but Tyrick Mitchell (calf) is a doubt for this match.
Conor Gallagher (ineligible) joins Nathan Ferguson (hamstring) on the sidelines.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have lost three of five previous FA Cup ties against Crystal Palace (W2, L3), although one of those ties went to a replay with the Blues winning two of six overall clashes (W2, D1, L3).
- Crystal Palace have won and lost one tie apiece when playing a FA Cup tie as the away team against Chelsea (W1, L1).
- Palace have conceded twice in each of their last three FA Cup ties against Chelsea (W1, D1, L1).
- Both teams have scored in five of their six previous FA Cup meetings, with Chelsea netting 12 goals in total to Palace’s 13 goals.
- Romelu Lukaku has scored in three of his four FA Cup appearances – except for the Blues’ comeback 2-1 win over Plymouth in the Fourth Round.
- Six of Palace’s ten FA Cup goals this season have been scored by the combination of Marc Guehi, Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta who have all scored twice in four appearances.
Prediction
After enduring a sloppy return in their first two matches back from the international break, Chelsea certainly look back to their best after two excellent victories over Southampton and Real Madrid but a late defensive switch off did prove costly on aggregate in midweek at Real.
Palace meanwhile were simply outplayed in their loss at Leicester last weekend because they seemed defensively caught out by quick attacking moves, which could be the same here if they’re not careful but their quick passing runs will make them a huge threat.
Gallagher’s absence though will count against Palace given his excellent creativity which is a shame when he is still young and deserves to be in the line-up, yet Olise or Ebrechi Eze should be more than capable of filling Gallagher’s position.
Patrick Vieira’s Eagles also can take heart from their performance in their last clash against a London rival after dismantling Arsenal nearly two weeks ago, yet are up against a Chelsea team who are back firing on all cylinders so this should be a competitive battle with finishing key to the result.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
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