Cole Palmer. That’s it- that’s the tweet, as he kids say. Palmer bagged four goals last night, including a hat trick in the first 30 minutes, against Everton. The scoring barrage pulled him even with Erling Haaland of Man City, at 20 goals apiece. In other words, Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal will feature the two co-leading scorers in the Premier League squaring off.
And of course, Cole Palmer versus the team that just wouldn’t give him a true chance at the role he deserved.
FA Cup Semifinal FYIs
Kick: Sat. Apr. 20, 5:15 pm, Wembley Stadium, London, UK
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Man City
Fun Fact: Both league fixtures between these two sides ended up in a draw, making this clash the true rubber match in the series.
In other words, so many storylines to choose from in this one! When it comes to setting his lineup for this cup clash, Mauricio Pochettino shouldn’t make too many changes from Monday night.
When you win 6-0, against anybody, it is a winning formula that you must replicate.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs Man City
Djorde Petrovic; Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi,Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher; Mykhailo Mudryk, Cole Palmer, Carney Chukwuemeka; Nicolas Jackson
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.