Chelsea vs Tottenham - as it happened! Antonio Conte's men reach the FA Cup final
Follow all the live action from the national stadium
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea have not lost back-to-back matches for over a year, but a defeat to Spurs could prove to be far more damaging than just crashing of the FA Cup. A win for Tottenham would ramp up the pressure ahead of difficult fixtures against Southampton and Everton in the league next week and could well impact the eventual outcome of the Premier League.
The Blues were thoroughly outplayed by a weakened Manchester United team on the weekend and Antonio Conte will be desperate to turn around his team’s fortunes against their North London rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur’s season in recent weeks has been one of improvement and pure optimism. Spurs have not won a noteworthy prize since the Carling Cup in 2008, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men have their eyes on the realistic chance of winning both the FA Cup and the Premier League this season.
Follow the action below...
Please allow a moment for the blog to load.
What time is kick-off?
The match will start at 5.15pm on Saturday.
Where can I watch it?
BBC One. Coverage starts at 4.50pm.
It’s a big match for…
Asmir Begovic: The Chelsea second choice keeper has missed three Wembley FA cup ties in his career (twice at Portsmouth and once at Stoke) and it looks as if he will finally get his chance despite it being mostly due to the injury of Thibaut Courtois. Begovic will be hoping for a dream Wembley FA Cup debut as well as a chance to make up for the Manchester United nightmare.
Remember when…
The Chelsea dressing room celebrated a dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool at a packed out Wembley stadium in 2012.
Player to watch…
Dele Alli. The 21-year-old has scored 16 Premier League goals for Tottenham this season, and just 12 months after picking up the PFA young player of the year award, Alli is once again the favourite to win the prize this year. Alli has a knack of scoring in big games and with the likely absence of Son Heung-Min it will be down to him and Harry Kane to take up the primary goal scoring roles.
Form…
Chelsea: LWWLWW
Tottenham: WWWWWW
Odds…
Chelsea to win: 17/10
Draw: 11/5
Tottenham to win: 9/5
17 MINS
Eriksen takes a quick free kick into the path of Kane, who turns and goes for goal, but Kante is there to block the strike.
18 MINS
GOAL
CHELSEA 1 - 1 TOTTENHAM
Kane has levelled the scoring for Spurs, with a top header from inside of the area. Eriksen sends the ball into the area, Kane gets down low and cleverly flicks the ball past Courtois. Sublime technique from Tottenham's top scorer.
21 MINS
Alonso fouls Eriksen on the right wing. Free kick to Spurs from a wide angle.
21 MINS
Eriksen's delivery from the set piece is dealt with by the head of Batshuayi.
22 MINS
Son breaks down the left, before attempting an over the top ball to Eriksen. He over hit's the pass and it flies out for a goal kick.
23 MINS
Luiz goes to ground following a collision with Alli. Vertonghen kicks the ball out of play, so that the Brazilian defender can receive treatment. It appears to be his ankle.
25 MINS
Terry did begin to warm up, but Luiz appears to be able to play on.
27 MINS
Kane bursts into the Chelsea box, but Kante manages to track back and snatch the ball and regain possession.
30 MINS
Eriksen delivers a corner into the box, but once again Batshauyi comes out on top and clears the danger.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments