United aim to kill off Chelsea's 'wounded animals'

It will be a meeting between a Chelsea side Sir Alex Ferguson has compared to a "wounded animal" and a Manchester United team who will arrive in the East dressing room as the winners of a tense, fiercely contested title race: between a manager preparing for his eighth FA Cup Final and one for whom it could be his first and last.

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As Jose Mourinho may have put it to officers from the Metropolitan Police, Saturday is a meeting between "the invisible man" and Old Trafford's Mr Invincible.

This afternoon's result could determine if Mourinho does indeed disappear and it might convince others at Chelsea that it is now time to move on. Will this be Frank Lampard's last game in a Chelsea shirt?

On Friday, one source close to an England midfielder who has yet to agree new contract terms suggested it was a possibility. "At the moment it's a toss of a coin," he said.

There is as little to choose between teams who arrive weakened by injuries but still more than capable of producing a match fit for such a marvellous venue; a match that will see a physically imposing Chelsea collide with Ferguson's fast-flowing technocrats; a match that will see Didier Drogba endeavouring to prove why he, and not Cristiano Ronaldo, should have been crowned Footballer of the Year.

Ferguson recognises the contrast in styles but sees nothing wrong in Mourinho's more measured philosophy. "I don't think it matters how a winning team achieve success," he said. "I think back to the '96 final against Liverpool. It was a poor game but I remember it as the best Final ever.

"That said, I expect a good game. I think both teams will rise to the occasion. I think both teams will play good football, even if in the serious games there aren't too many goals between us."

Both managers buy into the romance associated with the world's most famous football stadium. "All respect to Cardiff," said Ferguson. 'They did a fantastic job.

"It was a great atmosphere and a great stadium. But Wembley is Wembley. Just the name, the history. It's a fantastic cup."

It is the one domestic cup Mourinho has not yet won during his brief but hugely successful tenure at Stamford Bridge. "If we can win that trophy, we can say we won every competition in domestic football," said Mourinho.

"I am not English but there were a few trophies I always dreamed of winning, a few matches I always dreamed of participating in and the FA Cup Final was one of those. I remember Coventry against Tottenham in 1987. That was great stuff."

As well as climbing the 107 steps to the Royal Box - which, Mourinho should note, is directly below the private box Roman Abramovich has booked for the next three years at a cost of £250,000 - other novelties await the two teams.

The two dressing rooms have been equipped with a safe for the Rolex watches, while Mourinho could have brought his "missing" Yorkshire terrier in the knowledge that there are poop scoops on every level.

They have been installed with guide dogs in mind but they will not be needed now that the dog is in Portugal, safe from the long arm of the law.

Ferguson does not own a dog but he did reflect on the 1995 Final when his United side were conquered by Joe Royle's "dogs of war".

Like Chelsea this season, United had just missed a third successive Premier League title and they struggled to raise themselves for the end-of-season showpiece.

"It was hard work," said Ferguson. "After coming back from West Ham, where we lost the League, everyone was down for two or three days. We hoped that by the time we got to Wembley we would be OK, but it wasn't to be against Everton.

"This year I'm acutely aware that on the one side, in Chelsea, you have a wounded animal and on the other you have a team full of confidence. I just have to make sure there is no distinction between the two teams in terms of the desire to win. I think that will be important."

The pre - match managerial addresses will also be important, particularly if Mourinho and Ferguson tell their respective sides that the FA Cup will not be high on their list of priorities next season.

As their performances in the Champions League semi-finals demonstrated, United and Chelsea overstretched themselves in the pursuit of glory and something will have to give if they want success in Europe as well as in the Premiership.

Asked if adding domestic cups to the wish list had proved too much, Ferguson said: "I think it is very difficult. That was a tough game against Everton before we then went to Milan and it was probably one game too many.

"I think we left a lot on the pitch at Goodison and by the time we got to the semi-final, Milan were far better prepared than us physically and tactically.

"We couldn't do any tactical work. All we could do was help players recover. We had them stretching, in the swimming pool, getting the tiredness out of their legs.

"In preparing for the semi-final we just talked and used videos and when it came to the game we were a yard behind Milan in everything.

"We were sharp against them in the first game. That was evident in the second half. But it wasn't there in the second game. The game just drifted away from us and there was nothing we could give."

On Saturday they will give everything in an effort to secure a fourth domestic Double for Ferguson - a remarkable record for a remarkable manager.

Against him, however, is a wounded Chelsea team and a rival manager with rather more at stake than simply another piece of silverware.

Mourinho's job is on the line, which means today is not the day to be picking up a loser's medal a few feet from where it is anticipated Abramovich will be sitting.