Thomas Tuchel makes five changes to the Chelsea line up that lost to Arsenal last time out. Antonio Rudiger replaces Kurt Zouma in defence with N’Golo Kante and Marcos Alonso slotting into the midfield in place of Billy Gilmour and Ben Chilwell. Mason Mount keeps his place in the forward line but he’s joined by Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech instead of Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz.

Brendan Rodgers only makes one change to his Leicester team that defeated Manchester United last Tuesday. Marc Albrighton drops to the bench with Jonny Evans fit to start.

The team news is expected imminently as the fans lucky enough to have a ticket for the final begin to arrive at Wembley.

Striker Jamie Vardy says that reaching the FA Cup final show how much progress Leicester have made since he signed for the club almost a decade ago. Vardy puts this down to hard work and achievable goals and admits that he wasn’t sure it would happen when he first joined Leicester.

“If I didn’t have football then I’d probably still be working in the factory where I used to work making splints for people with drop-foot,” he says.

“It just shows you that having the chance and working hard for it can really achieve things. I couldn’t see any of this, not at all, when I first signed. But it’s where the club wanted to go and what they wanted to achieve.

“If you look at the nine years since I’ve been here that’s all it’s ever done,  it’s carried on progressing. I think winning the league probably set us back a bit because it wasn’t supposed to happen so we weren’t ready for it, on and off the field. That steady progress now is exactly what we’re seeing.

“We’ve got to the final of the FA Cup, it’s a big achievement. Yes, we want to go on and win it. Is there a possibility we won’t win it? Of course there is, but whatever happens, win or lose, next year we’ll be trying to get into the same position.”

The FA Cup final will play host to just over 21,000 fans when Chelsea and Leicester go head-to-head later today. Such a capacity makes it a real event and lends an invigorating new appeal to English football’s oldest showpiece says Miguel Delaney:

After back-to-back victories over Real Madrid and Manchester City, Chelsea suffered a shock defeat to Arsenal in their most recent outing. Manager Thomas Tuchel says the 1-0 defeat on Wednesday night was due to the seven changes he made to the starting XI so expect a familiar line up for today’s final.

Leicester followed up a shock 4-2 loss to Newcastle with a 2-1 victory away to Manchester United in the Premier League last Tuesday. Brendan Rodgers’ men are in a fight to finish in the top four but their main focus will be on today’s game as it is their chance to lift the FA Cup for the first time.

Leicester City are undefeated against Chelsea so far this season though they have only played one game. That meeting came on January 19^th when Frank Lampard still managed the Blues. Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison both scored in the first half and Chelsea went without reply as they lost 2-0 at the King Power Stadium. Can Brendan Rodgers’ side match that result against the style of new Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel?

After a five-week stint on the sidelines with a hamstring injury Mateo Kovacic is fit and available for Chelsea so too is N’Golo Kante who has been dealing with a slight Achilles problem. Andres Christensen may miss the game but Kepa Arrizabalaga is confirmed to start in goal for the Blues.

A heel issue makes Jonny Evans a doubt for Leicester City but manager Brendan Rodgers says they’ll do everything they can to get him fit for the game.

Ricardo Pereira and James Maddison would be big boosts for the midlands side but both are striving for match fitness and may only make the bench.

Leicester defender Jonny Evans says it’s a great effort from his side to get to their first major cup final since the yearr 2000 and their fifth FA Cup final overall. He knows that Chelsea pose a formidable threat but is looking forward to the experience. He spoke to LCFC TV saying:

“It’s a big achievement to get there, it’s a difficult path, and I’m just really glad that everybody’s going to get the experience together. It’s been a while since the Club’s been involved in a cup final, so everyone involved is excited.

“There are players like Kasper Schmeichel, who’s been playing for many years, and he’s not been involved in a cup final, so it’ll be a great experience, and it doesn’t get much bigger than the FA Cup.

“We’re expecting a really, really tough match. The last time we played Chelsea, I think it was one of the last games with Frank Lampard. It was a comfortable night for us in the end. I thought we played really well, but since the new coach has come in, he’s given them a new tactical dimension.

“They look a lot more solid at the back and are playing a little more counter-attacking football themselves. It’s a formation we have played ourselves at certain points of the season, so it could be an interesting match-up on cup final day.

“When you get into a cup final, a lot of things can go out the window. A lot of it is about effort and we know from the semi-final how big the Wembley pitch is. It’s one of the longest pitches in England and you’ve got to play that, so you have to work very hard for anything you get.”

What was the real meaning of the FA Cup final?

“When we came back on the A1 in 1973, there were people standing on the overhead bridges, just to see us in a flash as the bus went past,” Dennis Tueart says of Sunderland’s 1973 win. “I don’t know how long these guys had been waiting. There were people wall to wall, door to door, hanging out of windows, on the way back to Roker Park. Barnes Hospital had pushed the patients out onto the balconies so they could see us go past. It was phenomenal.”

Read Miguel Delaney’s excellent look back on what made the FA Cup a “national phenomenon”.