New champions face relegated Portsmouth in 129th final

Only true FA Cup romantics will predict anything other than a Chelsea win when they come up against a club dumped from the top flight and plunged into administration.

Portsmouth have overcome all the odd to reach English football's showpiece, but beating the current holders is surely too much to ask.

Chelsea sealed their first Premier League title with an emphatic 8-0 win over Wigan last weekend and cruised to their fifth cup final in 10 years.

The Blues comfortably beat Aston Villa to book a return to Wembley and scored 14 goals, conceding only one, on their march to the final.

Pompey on the other hand, reached the final in extraordinary circumstances, defeating high-flying Tottenham 2-0 in extra time, two years after winning the competition under the stewardship of current Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

They battled past Coventry in the third round, needing a replay to beat the Championship strugglers, before beating Premier League duo Sunderland and Birmingham and routing Southampton thanks to an inspired Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, who scored one and created two in a 4-1 win.

Young striker Daniel Sturridge was Chelsea's top goal scorer in their FA Cup run, bagging four goals and 12 Fantasy League points, but the Manchester City graduate may not even make the bench on Saturday.

Captain John Terry led his team to the final in inspirational style, scoring 23 Fantasy League points from just four games – he didn't play against Cardiff – with four clean sheets, four assists and one goal.

The England defender has scored at least five points in every FA Cup game that he has played in this season and will start on Saturday, despite earlier fears that he had broken his metatarsal.

Frank Lampard, who scored the winner against Everton in last year's final, played a key role in Chelsea's cup run, scoring three goals and collecting an assist for 13 points, while Didier Drogba picked up eight points for two goals and an assist.

Portsmouth's hopes will rest upon the shoulders of hardworking front pairing Frederic Piquionne and Aruna Dindane.

Piquionne was their top points scorer on route to the final with nine points for three goals with Dindane grabbing eight points, the same mark reached by John Utaka, for a two goals and an assist.

Dindane is on loan from Lens and battled hard to be allowed to play in the final, but looks set to shun the interest of several Premier League clubs and sign for Greek outfit Panathinaikos in the summer.

Another on-loan player that is expected to play on Saturday is Jamie O'Hara, who has been a great success at Fratton Park this season.

The Tottenham midfielder got a goal and two assists in Pompey's FA Cup run and is set to feature after having two painkilling injections to ease the pain of two stress fractures in his back.

However, fellow midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng, who was involved in both goals in the semi-final win over his former club, is unlikely to be involved after an ankle injury meant he was unable to travel to London with the rest of the squad.

With Boateng missing attention could turn towards enforcer Michael Brown after he scored seven Fantasy League points against Wolves on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season.

Portsmouth's already thin squad has been devastated by injuries with Marc Wilson, Nadir Belhadj, Richard Hughes and Hassan Yebda alll struggling to be fit.

The club's financial troubles are well documented and several first teamers, including England goalkeeper David James are expected to be shown the door straight after the final.

Portsmouth lifted the trophy for the first time since 1939 in 2008 when a single Kanu strike was enough to beat Cardiff, who could ironically replace them in the Premier League next season.

Chelsea, who have not lost in 27 games against Portsmouth and have won 16 of the last 17 meetings, could be without Branislav Ivanovic because of a knee injury.

When the two sides met this season Chelsea were victorious on each occasion, scoring five away from home, and you can find the latest team news ahead of tomorrow's final by clicking here.