Chelsea have had a predictably bad season despite winning the Premier League last season. Axing Diego Costa and bringing in an inexperienced and goal-shy Alvaro Morata was always going to see them struggle for the cutting edge they need in attack for a successful season. They are currently outside the top four and their hopes of making it back there is fading by the week. Antonio Conte would most likely not remain as Blues manager beyond this season, however, he would want to end the season on a high by winning the FA Cup and this semifinal offers him the chance to show that he can do just that. Chelsea defeated an in-form Burnley 2-1 in midweek and that followed a 3-2 come back win over Southampton in their previous game, they should head into this game with high confidence to send them to the finals. Southampton collected a point from their last league game against Leicester City on Thursday. While that win helps them end a three-game losing streak, they are still 4 points short of surviving the drop, which should be a priority for them at this stage of the season. The Saints usually a solid team at the back, but the reverse has been the case this season as they have conceded at almost every attack they face. Infact, they have conceded at least 3 goals in 4 of their last 6 games and that could be the case here again. Chelsea are also struggling to shut teams out as they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last ten games.

This game is expected to test the security of Istanbul as this two Turkish heavyweights clash in the second leg of the Turkish Cup semifinal. The first leg ended in a drama-packed 2-2 draw at the Vodafone Park. Premier League flops Alvaro Negredo and Roberto Soldado scored the first goal for their respective teams after the latter cancelled the former’s strike after just three minutes of them taking the lead. Fenerbahce were reduced to ten men a minute before the break as Alper Potuk was given his marching orders for a second yellow card, they would eventually end the game with 9 men. Surprisingly with ten men on the field, Fenerbahce took the lead but Anderson Talisca came up with the equalizer for the host in that game and Fenerbahce would be feeling that they can complete the job here on their home turf. These two sides come into this game on form as they have both won their last three successive games, however, Istanbul derbies have shown in the past that form of the two sides really does not count here. Fenerbahce have lost only two games at home all season and that should tell Besiktas that they have a mountain to climb in terms of eliminating their host in this game.

Schalke head into this game looking to get into their first final since 2011. They couldn’t have come into this game from a better position than being second on the Bundesliga table and from the back of an impressive 2-0 win over local rivals, Borussia Dortmund. They now look set to compete in next season’s Champions League, but winning the DFB Pokal would be a fitting end to an impressive season for them. Bastian Oczipka and Max Meyer were rested for Schalke game against Dortmund at the weekend, but they are both expected to start in this game. The last week has been one of its kind for Frankfurt. They were unhappy with Bayern Munich’s announcement that their manager, Niko Kovac would be their next manager at the end of this season. That announcement was followed by a 4-1 loss to their fellow top-four competitor Bayer Leverkusen. The good news from that game was that Mexican winger Marco Fabian marked his return from a long time out with a goal in that game, he should keep his place in the line up for this match. top scorer, Luka Jovic should also be recalled here.