Palace Preview: Tactical choices for Vieira with Eagles one step from FA Cup final

Match previews

20 Mar 2022

After a hard-fought run in the competition this season, Palace travel to Wembley to face Chelsea for a place in the FA Cup final in May.

Past meetings

Chelsea snatched all three points at Selhurst Park the last time the two sides met, with Hakim Ziyech’s late goal a hammer blow after Palace dominated much of the game.

The Eagles will be hoping for a repeat of the last time the two met in the FA Cup almost 50 years ago, when Stamford Bridge paid witness to a five-goal thriller as the away side ran out 3-2 winners.

It is over 100 years since their first meeting in the competition – and their first meeting as professional clubs – in 1906, as Palace struck seven times to knock out their newly formed rivals.

Preview

Defeat last time out at Leicester City will not overshadow what has been a positive period for the Eagles, having put together a seven-game unbeaten run before their trip to the midlands.

Patrick Vieira will be hoping for a display more similar to their dominant victory over Arsenal, or their four-goal demolition of Everton in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

However, there were positives from the match at the King Power. One was the continued goalscoring form of Wilfried Zaha, who notched his 12th goal in all competitions, a career-high return for a season in professional football.

There was also a personal milestone for Joel Ward, who came on for his 300th appearance for the club. Having been a key player for Palace in both their 2013 play-off final and their 2016 FA Cup semi-final victories, he will hope to celebrate his exceptional spell at the club in style this weekend.

“We are not too low,” said Vieira after the Leicester result. “We weren’t too high after Arsenal.

“We’ve come a long way from the first game v Chelsea to now. We are in a better place. There is still a lot we have to learn and that will come with time.”

That first game against Chelsea in August saw a Palace hugely different to the current iteration, now more finely honed in Vieira’s playing philosophy.

Chelsea recovered from their remarkable 4-1 defeat at home to Brentford by smashing six past Southampton last weekend, although their defence of their European Cup title was ended in midweek against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

Thomas Tuchel's side raced into a three-goal lead in Spain and looked on course to complete a remarkable turnaround after last week's defeat, only for Karim Benzema to once again find the back of the net and send the hosts to the semi-finals - after extra-time.

Tactical overview

There are selection dilemmas in abundance for Vieira in advance of the Wembley showdown.

In midfield, Will Hughes and James McArthur could offer additional solidity alongside Cheikhou Kouyaté, while Jeffrey Schlupp and Eberechi Eze provide a potent threat going forwards.

In the attacking positions, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goalscoring form may be complemented by Zaha out wide, with Michael Olise and Jordan Ayew differing options on the right-hand side. Odsonne Edouard and Christian Benteke are also available to lead the line.

Chelsea’s last Premier League outing saw them deploy Thomas Tuchel’s favoured 3-5-2 formation, with former Eagle Ruben Loftus-Cheek operating as an unorthodox wing-back.

Timo Werner and Kai Havertz proved a lethal attacking combinations, scoring three times between them as they took Southampton apart.

Match details

Sunday, 17th April
16:30 BST
Wembley Stadium
ITV, STV and UTV

How to follow

Follow LIVE throughout the day

Keep track of all the action throughout the afternoon on the live blog on cpfc.co.uk from 12pm BST.

Get ready for the match with all the best pre-match build-up, news and interviews before kick-off, as well as the best photos as Wembley turns red and blue.

From 16:30, stay up to date with all the action as it unfolds on the pitch, before getting all the reaction after full-time.

Is the match on TV?

Yes - the game will be broadcast on ITV, STV and UTV in the UK, with radio commentary available on 5 Live and talkSPORT.

You will be able to find a full list of international broadcasters here.

On Palace TV+

Live audio commentary Palace v Chelsea will be available on Palace TV+, a subscription service that gives subscribers live access to selected Academy match broadcasts, live audio commentary of all league and cup first-team games, and much more.

Find out more by clicking here.

Social media

You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye-catching photos and more.

Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.

The official app

The official Palace app’s match centre is the place to be for everything you need during the Chelsea clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as an instant match report and post-match reaction from Palace TV+, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.

Download our app for free here!

First-team
Match previews

Related News

More News