FA Cup semis, Premiership race share top billing

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): Cup soccer is again at the forefront in England this weekend with the FA Cup semifinals sharing top billing alongside a thrilling Premiership race.

Highbury hosts the all-London FA Cup semifinal between Chelsea and Wimbledon; and a more compelling mix of the finesse and physical would be difficult to find. With neither club confident of a UEFA Cup place, Sunday is the last chance for domestic honors and with it qualification for Europe.

The game will be broadcasted live by SCTV on Sunday at 6 p.m. West Indonesia Time.

Riding high in three competitions until recently, Wimbledon has fallen foul of its own success. A small playing staff, lengthy injury list and fixture backlog combined to produce a form dip that coincided with an exit from the Coca Cola Cup and points dropped in the Premiership race.

In its one league meeting this season, the Dons won 4-2 at Stamford Bridge. Three of the scorers that day, Robbie Earle, Marcus Gayle and Efan Ekoku, will again pose a threat. Add the highly rated Dean Holdsworth and Wimbledon has more than enough fire power to unsettle Chelsea's defense.

It also possesses Vincent Jones, captain, midfield player and resident hard man, a veteran of 46 league and cup games for Chelsea earlier in his career. Never a man to duck a challenge, Wimbledon will need all his pride and passion to overcome its talented opponent.

Supremely gifted, but disturbingly inconsistent, Chelsea ranks as the most frustrating club in England. A fourth round home tie against Liverpool said it all. Two down at halftime to goals from Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore, Chelsea roared back to win 4-2 with two from Gianluca Vialli and one each for Gianfranco Zola and Mark Hughes.

As with Wimbledon, its form has declined lately. Yet in the likes of Zola, Vialli and Hughes, it possesses three of the most talented strikers in Europe. Capable of changing the course of a match instantly, Ruud Gullit will look to his expensive strike force to bring a first season in management to a successful close.

Complacency

Having graced Wembley last Sunday in the Coca Cola Cup final, Middlesbrough travels to Old Trafford this Sunday for a semifinal tie against second division Chesterfield.

The match will be shown live on SCTV at 9 p.m. Sunday West Indonesia Time.

Complacency would appear Boro's only enemy in a tie it should win comfortably. Yet no game, whatever the stage of the competition, is easy. As Middlesbrough will testify, for it was just four minutes away from drawing a fourth round tie against non-league Hednesford Town before Juninho and Jan-Aage Ffortoft spared their blushes with late goals.

In a competition littered with giant-killing this season, Middlesbrough will trust the talents of Juninho, Emerson and Fabrizio Ravanelli to make their superiority count.

Having accounted for Bolton and Nottingham Forest in this campaign, and with the confidence and capacity to spring another surprise, Chesterfield will not journey to Old Trafford simply to make up the numbers.

Six other clubs from what is effectively English soccer's third tier have made the semifinals only to fall at this last hurdle. A place in soccer history awaits Chesterfield if it can beat Middlesbrough.

In the Premiership race, Manchester United, unlucky to lose 1- 0 against Borussia Dortmund in Wednesday's European Cup semifinal first leg, travels to Elwood Park to play near-neighbors Blackburn Rovers.

With Peter Schmeichel (torn back muscle) and David May (thigh strain) missing against the German champion, manager Alex Fergusson will wait until just before kickoff before naming its side.

Beaten at home by Derby County last weekend, United will take nothing for granted against a Blackburn side still needing points to secure Premiership survival.

Spared the anxiety of mid-week action, second place Arsenal will look to sustain its title challenge at home to Leicester City on Saturday. Comfortable winner over Chelsea in its last outing, the Gunners will unleash the inform pairing of Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp on a Leicester side that will have one eye on next Wednesday's Coca Cola Cup final replay.

Coming hard on the heels of its Cup Winners' Cup semifinal against Paris St Germain on Thursday night, Liverpool travels to Wearside on Sunday for a meeting with relegation candidate Sunderland.

Beaten at home by Coventry last weekend, the Anfield club will hope for greater accuracy from its increasingly charitable strikers. Desperate for points, Sunderland will run, tackle and close down the opposition as if its very Premiership life depends on it. Which, in effect, it does.

Work and commitment will be no less evident at Goodison Park where much troubled Everton entertains Tottenham Hotspur and at the Dell for Southampton's game against fellow struggler West Ham United.

In other games this weekend, fourth place Aston Villa will look to strengthen its UEFA Cup prospects with victory at Derby County. No easy task given the Rams victory at Old Trafford last Saturday.

European qualification is also up for grabs at Hillsborough where sixth place Sheffield Wednesday meets fifth place Newcastle United. A 2-1 mid-week victory over Tottenham has left Wednesday just a point behind the Tynesiders.

With no silverware to show after yet another season of expensive signings, manager Kenny Dalglish will look to his England strikers Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand to take the points and keep Newcastle on course for Europe next season.