Chelsea are on their way to... Cardiff

Robben sparks Cup victory but Wembley 'will not be ready for final'

Mourinho, who watched Chelsea gain last night's win courtesy of goals from Arjen Robben, Hernan Crespo, John Terry and a Frank Lampard penalty, had said earlier that his team "have the second Premiership in our hands, we cannot lose it. When we get eight wins, we will be champions."

Mourinho predicted last season that Chelsea would win the title at Bolton on 30 April 2005, which they did with a 2-0 victory. He has now forecast that Chelsea will be crowned champions on 9 April, at home, after hosting West Ham.

The Football Association insisted yesterday that no decision had been taken over where the FA Cup final will be staged, but a source in Cardiff said the Millennium Stadium had been given the green light to prepare for the event because the new Wembley would not be ready.

The FA is still maintaining that Wembley's builders, Multiplex, should be given every chance to finish the venue in time, and that if Wembley is not ready, the game will be in Cardiff.

"I can categorically say that no decision has been taken on where the FA Cup final will be played," said Adrian Bevington, the FA's director of communications.

"There is a critical path that the builders have in place. For the FA it is a daily watching brief and an on-going evaluation process.

"We have taken the prudent measure of booking Cardiff as a back-up," Bevington added. "It would have been naïve not to do so."

The FA expects a firm decision on Wembley around the time of the FA board meeting on 27 February. There is a feeling in Wales that the outcome is already obvious.