The 2010 FA Cup Final is set to be a 'David-and-Goliath' affair, as FA Cup holders and Premier League leaders Chelsea face 2008 winners Portsmouth (who were relegated at the weekend) on May 15th at Wembley Stadium in London.The story of Portsmouth's journey back to the FA Cup Final, embodies the very ideals of the world's most famous domestic club football competition, namely that an underdog can overcome the odds to achieve the seemingly impossible. And relegation from the Premier League is not the peak of Pompey's worries, for the South Coast club remain within the darkened cloud of financial administration, an event many believe was triggered directly by their FA Cup Final success two years ago. In Israeli manager Avram Grant, Pompey have a man who may just be looking for revenge, having lead Chelsea to within a whisker of both the Premier League title in 2008 and a penalty kick of the Champions League title the same year, only to be sacked at the end of the season for winning neither.
In stark contrast to Portsmouth, for Chelsea life is good. Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti has guided the cash-rich West Londoners to within touching distance of a 3rd Premier League championship since Blues' owner Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich took command at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are the overwhelming favourites, having swept away all major tournaments before them this season, save for the Champions League where Avram Grant remains the club's most successful manager. And few would bet against Chelsea making it a League and Cup double when they meet Portsmouth at a packed Wembley Stadium on May 15th.
But that is the inherent beauty of this romantic FA Cup knock-out tournament, where England's lowest-rankest teams do battle for the chance to play a giant. The FA Cup Final will attract a 90,000 capacity crowd, and millions more around the world on radios and televisions - and as the history of a competition that began life in 1872 has told us time and time again - anything can happen in the FA Cup!
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