FA Cup Final 2015

Fans will flock down to the home of English football on Saturday, for the conclusion of the FA Cup. The match sees Arsenal aim for their second title in a row, while Aston Villa compete in their first final since 2000 and aim to cap off a rollercoaster of a season with a victory against the holders.

Their journey

For both sides, they received a mixture of comfortable victories as well as near scares. Aston Villa's 3rd round tie started away back on the 4th January with a very late strike squeezing the Birmingham side past the Championship's bottom side, Blackpool. In times of trouble, debutant Carles Gil ended Villa's sequence of 5 scoreless games, before Andreas Weimann doubled their lead and see them through despite a late Bournemouth fight-back. The fifth round tie saw Villa leave it late to secure a passage into the quarter finals against Leicester. The deadlock was broken just before the 70 minute mark. Scott Sinclair doubled their lead just before the end, but there was time for Andrej Kramaric to score a consolation for the visitors.

The elation at the end of the quarter final game was clear to see as they overcome, their fierce rivals, West Brom. Fabian Delph and Sinclair netted to send Villa through to their first final since 2010. Although going a goal up, Liverpool were disappointing and quickly sacrificed the lead 6 minutes later through a Christian Benteke strike. Fabian Delph scored the conclusive goal just before the hour mark and sent Sherwood's Villa through to the final in only his 10th game in charge.

Arsenal's defence of the prestigious trophy started with a rematch of last years final against Hull. Per Mertesacker and Alexis Sanchez disposed of the injury stricken side. A match against Brighton beckoned, and the game probably should have been more comfortable than the score line suggests. Goals from Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil helped Arsenal race into a comfortable 2 goal lead before Tomas Rosicky added the third after Brighton pulled one back. Sam Baldock scored Brighton's second to leave an interesting remaining 15 minutes.

A quickfire double from Olivier Giroud sent Middlesborough out of the cup and Arsenal marched on to a quarter final match against Manchester United. Nacho Monreal opened the scoring against the Manchester side, but their lead was short lived as Wayne Rooney's flying header found a way passed Szczesny in nets. Danny Welbeck pounced on a loose Antonio Valencia back pass to round David de Gea and roll it into the empty net. Reading stood in the Gunners way to another final. The semi final saw Arsenal ride their luck as an extra time Alexis shot squirmed under the body of keeper Adam Federici to send Arsenal through. Reading put up a brave battle, with Federici at the heart of it, but Garath McCleary's equaliser was not enough to cancel out the earlier strike from Sanchez. Another final and a chance to defend their title for Arsenal.

Can Villa Win?

Of course they can! Before Sherwood, under Lambert the Villains looked dead and buried. Survival looked implausible never mind a cup run to the final. Under Sherwood, the pace and strength in Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann has been heavily utilised, bringing great success. Fabian Delph has been a stalwart throughout the cup run, and Benteke's goals have been vital. It is almost as if Sherwood has breathed life and rejuvenated a side that was on the cusp of collapse.

A counter attacking approach will be beneficial as Villa will have to be aware of the pace of Sanchez and the guile of Mesut Ozil. On the break Sinclair is lethal and this was amply demonstrated with the deciding goal against West Brom. Jack Grealish also delivered a performance of the highest quality in the semi final. Benteke can torment any defence on his day. With Szczesny in nets, the Polish international is prone to the odd calamitous error so they will always have a chance with the goal scoring prowess of the Belgian up front. They can only take inspiration from Wigan's cup exploits two seasons ago.

It's in Arsenal's hands...
The holders will be favourites and they will probably deserve this title. Having throttled Villa earlier in the season by five goals, which will give them confidence. This season, Alexis Sanchez has been a terrific purchase, netting 24 goals for the North London side. It's certain that Arsenal will have the majority of the possession on Saturday. Defensively, Arsenal don't need to take risks early on in the game, and if they do, can draw from experiences of last years final, where they sacrificed two early goals to Hull City, but where able to clinch the victory in extra time. On the other hand, the title of 'favourites' can do more harm than good. 'Favourites' means pressure, and we've seen plenty of cup upsets this year.

Who has the most to lose?
Neither team has a lot to lose, but Arsenal will be the team deemed favourites so will be hoping to deliver in this name. Aston Villa have had a very inconsistent season, starting desperately poor and culminating in a 17th placed finish. Having survived relegation, a cup victory for Villa would help make the season a little more positive and give Tim Sherwood the undoubted backing from the supporters. For Arsenal, they have broke their duck of failing to get into the top 3, and a trophy would help them kick on and attract bigger and better names to the Emirates and help them compete for more silverware. It would also allow Arsene Wenger to bow out on a high note, for the second season running, however I think he will stick around for another season yet.

Saturday will be an interesting affair. It will be intriguing to see how Villa will be able to deal with the attacking threat posed by Alexis Sanchez and co, and how they will line up. For me, Arsenal to win 2-1 after extra time. Aston Villa will put up a valiant fight, but Arsene's strike force will have too much for the Sherwood's side. 

FA Cup Semi Final Preview

A momentous occasion for four clubs approaches at the weekend. A trip to Wembley for the FA Cup Semi Final. Featuring Liverpool, Reading, Aston Villa and Arsenal, all sides have had vastly different seasons.

On Saturday, The Gunners from North London will make the short trip across to take on Reading. On of the inform teams in the Premier League, they will be clear favourites to progress to the final. Having won nine out of the last ten league games, Arsenal are eyeing a second place finish above current champions, Manchester City with a 5 point gap being established at the weekend. As for Reading, they have been less than inspiring in the Championship but find themselves 11 points outside the relegation zone and with nothing to play for in the league. This will mean that they can put all their eggs in one basket in the hope of another trip to Wembley come the end of May.

En route to the semi final, Reading disposed of giant killers Bradford in the previous round, while beating teams such as Derby County, Cardiff City and Huddersfield on their way to the final. Most of the teams are placed higher in the league than themselves, indicating that they have played their share of quality opposition. Although the Arsenal match will be the first time they take on a Premier League team, they will take confidence from results gained in other matches. Arsenal faced a trip to Old Trafford in the previous round and where able to come out on top in a tactical encounter. Brighton and Hull were also defeated on their journey.

It's a tie that Arsenal will be expected to win and one that I think they will duly deliver. Another boost for Arsenal is that Jack Wilshere is citing this match as his return to football after another injury lay off. I think Arsenal's form and class will overshadow a gutsy Reading performance as they march onto their second consecutive FA Cup final.

Liverpool and Aston Villa occupy the second semi final that will be played on Sunday. After the sacking of Paul Lambert in the middle of February, newly appointed Tim Sherwood brought on a new style of play, effectively utilising Aston Villa's potent attacking options. He has created a sense of optimism that wasn't at the club in the concluding days of the Lambert era. The sheer joy and jubilation was evident at the final whistle of the quarter final match where Villa defeated West Brom at Villa Park. The club has been going through a testing few years and this trip to Wembley will provide a perfect back drop to banish dire memories of a substandard league campaign.

Similarly Liverpool will be expecting to defeat the Villains on Sunday at Wembley. Having enjoyed an indifferent season with highs and lows, a trip on Steven Gerrard's birthday to the final will certainly be a way to end the season on a high as well as a celebration one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League era as his career in the North West draws to an end. Another performance from Jordan Henderson similar to the one that helped defeat Newcastle United on Monday night.

Mario Balotelli blows hot and cold and Rickie Lambert has never had a chance since he moved from Southampton in the summer. Sterling has been embroiled in contract controversy over the past few weeks and will be likely to start. I would like to see Rodgers field the same attacking options as he did against Newcastle as they were able to forge an abundance of chances, and on another day, Liverpool would have been out of sight by half time.

Sherwood has improved Villa's side since he his appointment, and with the attacking brand of football, his side will definitely pose Liverpool some problems. I still think that Liverpool will have enough to overcome the challenge and progress to their first final since their defeat against Chelsea in 2012.

Both ties will be enthralling encounters, and each underdog will look to Bradford and Middlesbrough for inspiration in defeating a superior side. This is the FA Cup and we have already had our fair share of cup shocks. Who says we won't be discussing another on Monday morning?