Civil War in England

Tomorrow, Premier League teams Chelsea and Everton will square off in the oldest cup competition in the world. This will be the 128th year the cup has been around. This match up could be much more thrilling than the Man U vs. Barca match. On one side you have Chelsea…a team struggling to bring back hardware to Stamford Bridge after defeats in the Carling Cup and Champions League, and finishing third in the Premier League. This team is desperate for a championship win this season. Winning the FA Cup will not satisfy Chelsea’s season expectations, but hardware is hardware, and at least they will not go home empty handed. Frank Lampard and Alex are scheduled to be back in action for the match, and Skipper John Terry has dedicated the match to Guus Hiddink as a going away gift. On paper, Chelsea seems to be the favorite in this match up; they have some of the best strikers and offense in the league, as well as a strong midfield and defense. They have a lot of tools in their arsenal to get the job done, and could create some interesting match ups. However, Everton should by no means be counted out before the whistle is blown.

Everton isn’t looking shabby either. Everton had a tough road to make it to the finals. Everton beat not only Manchester United, but also Liverpool and Aston Villa…all three of these clubs finished higher in the Premier League than Everton. In addition, Chelsea has never beat Everton this season. On both occasions that these teams have met, they have left with a 0-0 tie. The FA Cup will fix this…someone will have to walk away a winner this weekend. Everton will feature both Phil Neville and winger Steven Pienaar in their line up after both suffered hamstring injuries in last weeks Premier League match against Fulham. These two players could add a huge moral boost, but will it be enough to sway the tide of the match in their favor?

Besides the bragging rights and the trophy, there is also a pretty penny on the line. The winner of this match up will walk away with £2m from the Football Association and the runner-up £1m.