Flashback to the Manchester United vs Chelsea FA Cup finals in 1994 and 2007

Manchester United and Chelsea will meet at Wembley on Saturday evening in English football's annual showpiece - the FA Cup final.

For both, it is their final opportunity to salvage some silverware from seasons that have seen their fair share of ups and downs.

Jose Mourinho's United finished a distant second to neighbours Manchester City in the Premier League title race, while Antonio Conte's Chelsea didn't even make the top four.

But these are two clubs that have always respected the tradition of the Cup - United have lifted the trophy on 12 occasions and Chelsea seven times.

They have also met twice previously in the FA Cup final and we recall those occasions in our flashback here.

1994 FA CUP FINAL

MANCHESTER UNITED 4 CHELSEA 0

Chelsea Football Club was a very different beast back in 1994. A Premier League club, yes, but a million miles away from the global elite club you see now under the ownership of Roman Abramovich.

'There was no bath. Or gym, or canteen, or manager's office,' recalled then player-manager Glenn Hoddle in a Mail on Sunday interview last year. 'I did my business on a payphone in the staff room.'

Ken Bates was in the process of modernising Chelsea both on and off the field, but they were some way from actually achieving sustained success.

That was evident by their 14th place finish in the 1993-94 Premier League table and their gleeful excitement at reaching a first major cup final in 22 years.

At United, the good times of the Alex Ferguson epoch had started to role. For them, cup finals had started to become a regular occurrence following their own lengthy drought of success.

They had also embraced the advent of the Premier League, ending a 26-year wait for the league championship in 1993 and following that up by finishing eight points ahead of Blackburn in 1994.

So Ferguson's side rolled up on a rainy Wembley afternoon brimming with optimism as they bid to become only the fourth English team in the 20th century to complete the 'Double.'

But during the first-half they were second-best to a Chelsea side revelling in the underdog role, with Gavin Peacock rattling the crossbar with a half-volley.

'At one point, Paul Ince and Roy Keane tore strips out of each other as they couldn't get to grips with us,' recalled Frank Sinclair, in Chelsea's back line that day.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, there were many reasons why United were considered head and shoulders above the rest of English football and they became abundantly clear after the break.

On the hour mark, referee David Elleray awarded United a penalty when Eddie Newton sent Denis Irwin flying and up stepped Eric Cantona, just the cocksure personality for such a responsibility, to fire past goalkeeper Dmitri Kharine.

Six minutes later, Elleray again pointed to the spot when Sinclair was adjudged to have impeded Andrei Kanchelskis. This penalty was less clear-cut and Elleray later admitted with regret that he made 'a disappointing decision'.

Once again, Cantona was the embodiment of calm assurance. As Joe Melling wrote in the Mail on Sunday: 'Even greats of the past such as George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law never matched the drama of Eric Cantona stepping up to the penalty spot twice in five minutes to ensure United's unrivalled position as the finest team produced by the English game for many a year.'

Mark Hughes ended the contest on 69 minutes, capitalising on a slip by Sinclair, and substitute Brian McClair added the fourth in stoppage time with a side-footed finish following Paul Ince's handiwork.

But the day is remembered most for Cantona's twin spot-kicks. As Hughes said afterwards: 'Eric is fantastic. It took a lot to take the ball for the penalties but he relishes opportunities like that. I had no doubt in my mind that he would score.'

Because United had also won the Premier League and were bound for the Champions League, Chelsea won a place in the European Cup Winners' Cup.

And while Ferguson's legacy of success would continue for many years, this was the beginning of pre-Abramovich Chelsea as a very useful cup team.

2007 FA CUP FINAL

CHELSEA 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 0

Fast-forward to 2007 and Chelsea had been transformed by Abramovich's billions into one of England's most formidable footballing forces.

Ferguson's United had seen off challenges to their Premier League dominance from Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Arsenal, but Chelsea, managed by the self-anointed 'Special One' Jose Mourinho, had proved tougher to dismiss.

The Blues had won their first Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, though United had crawled back to the summit in 2006-07, finishing six points ahead of their London rivals.

Therefore, they arrived at the first FA Cup final to be staged at the newly-rebuilt Wembley Stadium aiming to complete a domestic 'Double' that would truly reassert their superiority.

For five seasons, the Cup final had been played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as the national stadium was constructed at £789million cost.

Despite an array of superstars on display on both sides, the match itself proved a tremendously disappointing spectacle and was settled by Chelsea's Didier Drogba four minutes before the end of extra time.

'It was a quiet afternoon for many with a long, demanding and draining season taking its toll on the teams, who were not helped by a slow, cloying pitch,' reflected Ian Ridley in the Mail on Sunday.

United had slugged their way through to the semi-finals of the Champions League, losing to Milan, and limped over the finishing line in the Premier League.

Chelsea were beset with injury problems despite their large and expensively-assembled squad, with Ricardo Carvalho, Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack out injured.

Having also won the League Cup earlier in the campaign and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, losing on penalties to Liverpool, Chelsea were pretty much spent too.

And despite new and shiny surroundings, the game was lacking in spectacle. Having finished first and second in the league, both sides were already assured of Champions League football, so that incentive wasn't what it used to be.

A cagey opening meant we had to wait 30 minutes for any effort of note, with Frank Lampard testing Edwin van der Sar in the United goal.

Wayne Rooney almost broke the deadlock moments after half-time, but Petr Cech was equal to his effort. Ryan Giggs then flashed a volley fractionally over the Chelsea crossbar.

The game ebbed inevitably into extra time and United should have won it when Rooney teed up Giggs, only for his weak shot to be blocked by Cech on the line.

With penalties looming, Chelsea were the ones to break the deadlock. Drogba played a one-two with Lampard on the edge of the box, advanced through United lines and prodded the ball past the onrushing Van der Sar.

It was a fitting final flourish to a season in which Drogba had scored 33 goals in 60 games and, just as they had in the last final at the original Wembley, Chelsea lifted the Cup.