Michael Owen is backing Chelsea FC to claim a narrow 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Wembley on Sunday to book their spot in the FA Cup final.
The Blues head into the game on the back of their disappointing night on Tuesday, when they were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Chelsea FC had led the game on the night 3-0 but conceded late goals to Rodrygo and Karim Benzema as the Spanish side secured their progress to the last four at the expense of the holders.
The south west London side will now look to bounce back against Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, with the trophy representing the Blues’ final chance of winning some domestic silverware this term.
Palace head into the game in decent form, having secured wins over Arsenal and Wolves in the Premier League lately, and having beaten Everton 4-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals to secure their progress to the final four.
However, former Liverpool FC and England star Owen believes that Chelsea FC will have too much for Patrick Vieira’s Palace side on Sunday and he is tipping the Blues to claim a narrow victory to seal their spot in the final.
Writing in his column for BetVictor, Owen said: “Despite going out, there’s lots of positives for Chelsea to take from the game in Madrid.
“I thought they were outstanding and honestly, I don’t know how they didn’t go through. Prior to that moment of genius from Modric, Chelsea were so dominant.
It’s great to see Palace get this far. I think the job Vieira has done is one of the stories of the season, and they deserve a big occasion like this. They’ve got a lot of threat in this side, so I’m certainly not going to underestimate them.
“I think Palace will play with nothing to lose and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them score here.
“I just think Chelsea will be too strong. I think they’ll enter this with renewed optimism after Tuesday’s performance and win this 2-1.”
Chelsea FC will take on Arsenal, West Ham United and Everton in their next three Premier League games after Sunday’s clash.
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