Chelsea boss Antonio Conte gave his FA Cup Final pre-match press conference less than an hour ago, and as usual, he was asked if he will still be managing the club next season.
“I can tell for sure that this will be my last match, in this season,” he answered, prompting laughter to then erupt among the reporters in attendance. Conte smiled, as he then continued: “because this will be the last game of the season for me and my players. And as you know, I have a contract and I am very committed to the club.”
We have full of the entire session, which runs about 13 minutes, via YouTube, embedded below:
The discussion about this being Conte’s last game at Chelsea (it is widely believed that it will be, regardless of Saturday’s outcome), begins around the 5:20 mark.
Other takeaways from the session, as Conte prepares to face Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United include:
an update on the fitness/injury report (Emerson Palmieri is out, but no other new developments), his relationship with Mourinho (it’s good now, and no longer acrimonious), what Chelsea has learned from last year’s FA Cup Final loss to Arsenal, what Romelu Lukaku’s potential absence could mean and much much more.
FA Cup Final Odds via BetFair: Man Utd 8/5, Chelsea FC 19/10
Kickoff: 5:15 Local
Injury and Fitness Report for both teams: go to this link
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Jose Mourinho Press Conference Takeaways: go to this link
Prediction: United 3, Chelsea FC 2
This will be a clash between two managers with tremendous self-confidence, and extremely high ambitions. The history of personal acrimony between the two bosses only serves to make this contest even more competitive. With Chelsea boss Antonio Conte likely on the way out, it appears that Mourinho will have the finer edge for this blockbuster match, and thus we’re pegging him to guide his side to victory.
Also, the Portugese has a tremendous track record in contests such as these. He’s won 12 of 14 cup finals since claiming the UEFA Cup with Porto in 2003.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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