Conte's Chelsea fancied to take command

Recommended bets:

1pt Chelsea to score in both halves at 23/10 - hosts can expose recent defensive frailities shown by the Red Devils

Click here for our transparent tipping record.  

Chelsea v Manchester United (1945GMT, BBC1)

You can have all the data and historic information at your disposal to pore over ahead of Monday's final FA Cup quarter-final but that does not make coming to a conclusion about Chelsea hosting Manchester United any easier.

If you are happy to rely on the form of their most recent encounter then lump on the Londoners at a fraction of odds-on in the anticipation of another miserable evening for returning ex-boss Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese probably expected this draw deep down in all honesty before the line-up was unveiled and will have immediately got the grey matter whirring on how to come up with a strategy to overcome the Premier League leaders.

I don't really buy into the revenge angle for last October's 4-0 mauling after Pedro scored inside the first 30 seconds but I certainly think Mourinho would derive a huge amount of satisfaction getting one over his former employers following the whole acrimonious exit thing.

It means plenty to him as well that they have a certain responsibility as Cup holders and his claim in the build-up "we do not go with a Nicky Butt team" (one from the academy) means he is going to give this match his full focus.

It does not mean there are not other balls to juggle though ahead of a busy end to the season. Europe and the Premier League remain very pressing issues while he probably did not expect to be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Swede starts a three-match ban for the elbow he planted in the face of Tyrone Mings.

There is a big void to fill up front in terms of experience and physicality against a Chelsea defense that rarely gets pushed around with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial the obvious options. Perhaps Wayne Rooney is the other angle having avoided the midweek trip to Rostov and will be more than happy to show his boss he can still mix it in the best games.

The form United have shown since the Chelsea defeat reads just two defeats in 31 outings along with an additional spring in their step from winning the EFL Cup final a fortnight ago against Southampton.

But the defensive displays in that game, against Bournemouth and now a modest Rostov outfit must give Mourinho some real cause for concern ahead of their quest to make the last four of this competition with the home side an obvious grade or two above those teams.

Manager Antonio Conte may have had an issue or two of his own to resolve in the early stages of his tenure at Stamford Bridge but once he got his back line organized, the immense talent in the ranks further up the park has thrived.

The ability to sit and soak up any pressure is a huge asset and the latest example of the devastation they can then cause on the counter-attack came at West Ham via a swift thrust in a matter of seconds which ended with Eden Hazard finding the target. 

They have mastered that art at the moment and as Bournemouth were able to highlight United's current frailty at the back it is not hard to envisage another testing encounter for the visitors with Hazard, N'Golo Kante, Pedro and Diego Costa fully revved up on the back of a full week to prepare for this fixture.

Conte is correct to feel this will be a tough game but he has the players all across the park to take command and the Blues to find the target in both halves does not seem an unreasonable expectation. 

Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United

Opta facts:

Manchester United have won seven of their last nine FA Cup ties v Chelsea, but have lost the last two (2007 final and R6 in 2013).

Jose Mourinho has won four of his last six games against teams he previously managed (L2) but was beaten 4-0 earlier in the season on his return to Stamford Bridge. 

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings with Manchester United in all competitions (W6 D5), last losing to them 3-2 in October 2012. 

The Red Devils have scored just three times in their last nine clashes with Chelsea, and never more than once in any of those games. 

Chelsea and Manchester United have met in the sixth round of the FA Cup three times before, with the Blues progressing twice (1949/50 and 2012/13).  

Antonio Conte reached the Coppa Italia quarter finals in each of his three seasons at Juventus, but didn’t go onto win the tournament (runners-up 2011/12, semi-final 2012/13 and quarter-final 2013/14). 

The last time Jose Mourinho reached an FA Cup semi-final was in 2006/07, going onto beat his current club Manchester United in the final. 

Pedro has scored four times and assisted a further two goals in Chelsea’s FA Cup run so far. He also scored after 30 seconds against Manchester United in the Premier League in October. 

Manchester United have had eight different scorers in this competition so far this season, with Marcus Rashford the only player to score more than once (3).

In all, Marcus Rashford has scored four goals in six FA Cup appearances for Manchester United.   

Posted at 1115 GMT on 12/03/17