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Tottenham vs. Chelsea FA Cup semifinal preview

By Gary Pearson

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 15: Kyle Walker of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth at White Hart Lane on April 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 15: Kyle Walker of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth at White Hart Lane on April 15, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The all-anticipated FA Cup semifinal is only two days away as Tottenham make their final preparations before taking the Wembley pitch for their biggest cup match in four years. 

Chelsea got the better of Spurs the last time these two teams met in an FA Cup semifinal, with the west Londoners winning 5-1 in 2012. The situation couldn’t feel more different going into Saturday’s semifinal, though.

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Tottenham, having won a club record seven straight Premier League games, go into the match brimming with confidence.

Undefeated since losing 2-0 away to Liverpool over two months ago, Tottenham face their bitter west London adversaries at an opportune moment.

Trending in completely opposite directions, Chelsea have lost two of their last four matches. Eden Hazard was silent against Manchester United, as Ander Herrera had his way while shadowing Chelsea’s most influential midfielder. Devoid of confidence and collectively deflated, Chelsea haven’t kept a Premier League clean sheet in 10 games.

Antonio Conte recently conceded that Spurs are currently the best team in England. He’s right about that.

Spurs’ road to the semifinal

Spurs commenced their FA Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 home win against Aston Villa.

Tottenham’s only scare on route to the semifinal came against League Two Wycombe Wanderers in the fourth round. Wycombe went up 2-0 in the first half and led 3-2 in the 83rd minute before Dele Alli equalized with a minute to play.

Son Heung-Min scored in the sixth minute of injury time, stamping Spurs place in the fifth round.

Son has contributed in 38 percent of Tottenham’s FA Cup goals, which includes his first hat trick for the club. Son’s three-goal performance helped Spurs to a 6-0 whitewash over Millwall. Harry Kane was the hat-trick hero, scoring all three Spurs’ goals in the previous game against Fulham.

Tottenham have kept three clean sheets in four FA Cup matches, outscoring the opposition 14-3 along the way.

Chelsea’s road to the semifinal

Chelsea have advanced to the semifinal by way of wins against Peterborough, Brentford, Wolves, and Manchester United in the quarterfinal. The west Londoners have also kept three clean sheets in four FA Cup matches, outscoring their opponents 11-1 in the process.

Spurs vs. Chelsea FA Cup history

Spurs and Chelsea have battled each other 11 times in the 145-year history of the FA Cup. The head-to-head series is almost split down the middle, with Spurs winning four and drawing two. Tottenham famously beat Chelsea in the 1967 FA Cup final. It was the first time two London teams have played one another in the final, the match being dubbed the “Cockney Final”.

As previously mentioned, Spurs lost 5-1 in the 2012 semifinal, the most recent edition of the cross-London rivalry.

That won’t happen again, though.

Next: Tottenham must overcome ghosts of Wembley past in FA Cup semifinal

Tottenham will play in the same way that has brought them so much recent success.

Victor Wanyama is fully fit, so it will be interesting to see if Mauricio Pochettino decides to bring him back into the starting 11 in favour of Eric Dier, who has been outstanding in the Kenyan’s absence.

Ripe for the picking, Spurs will push the tempo and pressure a tired, fragile and supposedly partially sick Chelsea team. It will take a Hurculean effort for Chelsea to prevent Spurs from advancing to their first final since 1991, the last time Tottenham hoisted the coveted trophy.