For Liverpool winning the FA Cup would trump the Carling Cup, but for Chelsea it would pale in significance to the Champions League.
Calling the FA Cup Final an afterthought for Chelsea may seem harsh on the cup itself, but would any supporters notice if they were not in the final this weekend?
Their cup run as been an added bonus, an extra fillet, but let’s not pretend it compares to the Champions League.
Ask any supporter their most memorable moments of this season, and surely the answer will be the Napoli comeback, and the two triumphs over Barcelona.
The 5-1 demolition of Tottenham in the semi-final was nice too, but it somehow falls on the rung below the Champions League victories.
That is not to say Chelsea will be taking it any less seriously, a chance to win a trophy at Wembley is not to be passed up.
But if Liverpool win and Chelsea lose, supporters will shrug off the disappointment in the knowledge that a more prestigious Champions League final is around the corner.
Liverpool on the other hand do not have that luxury. Their whole season rests on this final.
A win would allow them to put a positive spin on what will go down as a truly mixed debut season for Kenny Dalglish, after all it is a rare feat that a club wins both the League Cup and FA Cup double.
In the last 20 years, Chelsea (2007), Liverpool (2001) and Arsenal (1993) are the only sides to accomplish it.
Should they lose, the club will face a miserable summer, possibly one in the shadow of their Merseyside rivals Everton who currently sit three points above them in the Premier League.
Liverpool are only above Fulham on goal difference in the league, so it may only get worse, their league form since the turn of the year has been truly wretched, and so the FA Cup is more important than ever. The Carling Cup alone is no consolation for their league misery.
So both teams will go into the cup with different back stories, will be equally as determined to win, but Liverpool will be more desperate.
That could play to their advantage or disadvantage, for Chelsea, the knowledge of knowing their season does not rest on the fixture could allow them to play with freedom.
What Chelsea have achieved in reaching the Champions League Final makes their season a success almost irrespective of silverware, in the context that they sacked their manager in February and never could have dreamed of such a scenario.
No teams or players want to lose a Wembley final, and Chelsea will be well up for it on the day. The extra incentive they have- which Roberto di Matteo will be instilling to his players, is the momentum it can provide.
Going into the Champions League Final on the back of a victory, rather than a defeat, will give the players a huge confidence boost, and could even make the difference in Munich.
Which is why even if it may not seem like their priority, the cup should be every bit as crucial to Chelsea’s season as it is for Liverpool’s.
Who do you believe will win the cup final
image: © pikerslanefarm
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