Thomas Tuchel to lead Chelsea to FA Cup glory in debut season

Thomas Tuchel has admitted he made too many changes against Arsenal on Wednesday but I like the fact he is taking the FA Cup so seriously and the German can lead the club to a Wembley triumph over Leicester.

The FA Cup isn't what it is was and that disappoints me.

As a fan I used to absolutely love everything about the occasion on TV and then to win the competition with Chelsea in 1997 was a dream come true, so the fact Tuchel is up for the cup to my mind compensates to some extent the Arsenal loss.

He still picked a team good enough to win the match but looking at a list on paper and the reality of playing to a rhythm are two totally different things. It also wouldn't surprise me if the loss just gave the Blues a timely nudge ahead of the trip to Wembley.

Timo Werner was rested in midweek which presumably means he will get the start on Saturday and I think he has played better than many have given him credit for this season, although I know he left his shooting boots back in Germany.

Werner is a nightmare for defenders and I love the way he has kept going and it's worth noting not all strikers would get into the positions he does in the first place.

The goals will come next season but I would like to see Chelsea use him off the left and go out and buy a genuine number nine. Harry Kane would be unlikely given the frosty relationship between Spurs and Chelsea, but could they go out and get Erling Haaland instead?

Kai Havertz does not convince me in the false nine and, while I feel a bit sorry for Tammy Abraham, who is a really good player, there are question marks as to whether he is up to leading the line for a club that want to win the Premier League and Champions League.

Tuchel's main selection dilemma in the attacking third for the final is which creative player alongside Mason Mount is used behind Werner and I would go for Christian Pulisic.

Havertz looks nice when Chelsea are dominating but doesn't take games by the scruff of the neck and Hakim Ziyech has been a bit more inconsistent than Pulisic.

Whoever gets picked will need to stay focused because this is likely to be a tight cup final and I take Chelsea to win to nil, but it might only be by a 1-0 scoreline.

Pep talk helped City become champions

Pep Guardiola told his staff after the 1-1 draw with West Brom in December that he did not like the look of his team. He does now.

Guardiola felt they were rushing and told them to slow the pace down. Once they did that, gained control of matches, they were able to get on a roll and the problem for opponents is trying to stop them for 90 minutes because after an hour or so teams are knackered.

Kevin De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world and Phil Foden has grown into a star, while last week I said Ruben Dias would be my player of the season but it's also worth giving Ilkay Gundogan a shout out.

Gundogan played a major part in getting City on that winning run which set the foundations for them to become champions.

Scott Minto presents the Racing Post's weekly YouTube football show Different League in association with Betfred

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