Chelsea take on high flying Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final clash on Saturday.
BBC pundit and former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson predicts a tight contest between the two sides, with the Blues narrowly edging past their London rivals on extra time and penalties.
However, according to the former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas (BBC pundit for Match of the Day), Mauricio Pochettino’s side will emerge victorious.
Chelsea and Spurs are contesting each in the Premier League as well. The Blues are leading the Premier League, but Spurs have been able to close the gap between them and the leaders to just four points.
Therefore, many feel that whoever wins this tie will have a psychological advantage going into the final few games of the title race.
However, Lawrenson says that the outcome of this match will hardly make any difference to the title race.
Chelsea struggled last weekend in their defeat against Manchester United, and since then it has emerged that some of their players were suffering from a virus.
I quite like the fact that Blues boss Antonio Conte did not use it as an excuse after the game, and I also don’t think they will play as badly again here.
FA Cup semi-finals are horrible games to play in because all everyone is thinking about is how the final is so close.
They are nearly always tight and this one will be the same. I am going to go with Chelsea to win it – but it will be very extremely close.
Chelsea have struggled in the recent defeat against Manchester United and the BBC pundit expects the Blues to bounce back strongly.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are buzzing with confidence at the moment and are riding high on momentum. The north Londoners have won their last eight games in all competitions, and are heading into this match on the back of a 4-0 victory against Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Lawrenson predicts a 1-1 draw, with Chelsea winning on extra time and penalties.
Jenas predicts a 2-1 win over Tottenham.
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