Romelu Lukaku To Start On The Bench: FA Cup Final

As per reports, Manchester United Romelu Lukaku is not fully fit to start the FA Cup Final against Chelsea today. As such, he will be on the bench when the match kicks off.

The Belgian striker picked up an injury last month in United’s home win against Arsenal and he has been receiving treatment in his home country ever since. Manager Jose Mourinho was hopeful of him being able to make it to the bench for the Final, but now it seems that that is unlikely to happen.

Ahead of the kick-off, media houses from London reported that Mourinho has used a new look attacking-line up which will feature either Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial upfront. The Englishman and the Frenchman are apparently, both vying for the same spot but the latter has a lot more to prove. He was unable to make the cut for the national team for the World Cup and is being subjected to rumors suggesting he would be on his way from Old Trafford in the summer. The Portuguese boss had already stated that David de Gea would start the game ahead of Sergio Romero, but it remains to be seen how the outfield players line up.

However, Antonio Conte, the Chelsea boss was in no mood to celebrate Lukaku’s absence. While being quizzed by the media yesterday, he said,” We are talking about an important player [Lukaku], but they have the possibility to pick many important players. I don’t know which is the decision tomorrow but if he doesn’t play there are great players to replace him. We don’t change [tactics] as you don’t change your plan for one player, but for the whole team.”

It will be interesting to see how United line up today and how Conte plans to stop them. Keep watching this space for more news as we cover the FA Cup Final.