Chelsea vs Man United FA Cup final match facts as English giants clash again in Wembley showpiece

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  • Chelsea and Manchester United lock horns in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

    For the Blues, ending the campaign with a trophy would lift some of the doom and gloom following their fifth-placed finish in the Premier League – meaning they missed out on Champions League qualification.

    It is also a huge fixture for Antonio Conte given there is plenty of speculation that he could leave this summer.

    United secured second-place in the league, but there is pressure again on Jose Mourinho to deliver a trophy against his old club.

    Here, we look at some key match facts and historical context ahead of the clash.

    – Manchester United are more than used to the showpiece occasion of an FA Cup final. Saturday’s match will be their 20th appearance – a joint-record they share with Arsenal.

    – Only the Gunners (13) have won more FA Cup trophies than United, with United’s last and 12th victory coming at the end of the 2015/16 season following a 2-1 extra-time success over Crystal Palace.

    – This will be the third time the Blues and Red Devils have met in the end-of-season domestic finale – making it the joint-most played final in the competition’s history alongside Arsenal vs Liverpool, Arsenal vs Newcastle and Aston Villa vs West Brom clashes.

    – Their meetings are level at 1-1. Back in 1994 at the old Wembley, the Reds thumped the west London side 4-0 but Chelsea got revenge, albeit it 13 years later in 2007, winning 1-0 in the first final at the newly-built Wembley.

    – Following their defeat in last season’s final to Arsenal, Antonio Conte could become the first manager to lose consecutive finals since Everton’s Howard Kendall in 1985 and 1986.

    – Historically, and in all competitions, Untied hold the edge in this fixture having won 74 of their past 179 meetings against Chelsea dating back to 1905. In another good omen, United have won eight out of their past 14 FA Cup matches with the Blues, to Chelsea’s four.

    – If his team secure victory, Mourinho could become only the third manager in history to win the FA Cup with two different clubs having of course previously triumphed with Chelsea in 2007 (ironically, against United). Herbert Chapman (Huddersfield and Arsenal) and Billy Walker (Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest) were the other men to achieve that feat.

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