Two days after Manchester United and Chelsea played Premier League matches, the pair will take to the pitch yet again, this time in a FA Cup replay. It's a task made even worse for the Red Devils, who got off to a flying start in the first leg and figured they were through to the semifinals without this replay.
Chelsea vs. Manchester United, 2013 FA Cup: Preview and TV schedule
Manchester United and Chelsea will square off in a FA Cup quarterfinal replay after the Red Devils let a 2-0 lead to the Blues slip away in their first clash.
Alex Livesey
United will rue the fact that they are even in this replay after blowing a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford in the first leg. Goals by Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez put them in front after just 11 minutes and they played Chelsea off the pitch in the first half, but the Blues stormed back in the second and netted a pair of goals through Eden Hazard and Ramirez to force another match, this time at Stamford Bridge.
It's a tough turnaround for both teams and Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez both had this fixture congestion in mind over the weekend when they made several chances to their teams. They had to keep players fresh, but some are going to have to make t two matches in 48 hours, and that could lead to a match-changing mistake that sends one team to Wembley for the semifinals.
Chelsea made seven changes in Saturday's 2-1 loss to Southampton, while United rested Rooney, Hernandez, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs in their Saturday morning victory.
The winner of this match will face a tough semifinal against Manchester City, after the draw split the power clubs and the hopefuls for the penultimate round. Millwall and Wigan are in the other semifinal.
Match date/time: Monday, April 1, 7:30 a.m. ET
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London, England
TV: Fox Soccer Channel (USA English), Fox Deportes (USA Spanish), ITV (UK), Sportsnet World (Canada)
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