Everton's Leighton Baines: Pressure On Chelsea Ahead Of FA Cup Final

The England international defender says expectations are far higher for the Blues than they are for the Toffees...

Leighton Baines has suggested that Everton might have a slight upper hand in the FA Cup final on Saturday, as he believes the pressure will be on Chelsea.

The England international left-back says it will almost certainly be an extremely difficult game against one of the Premier League's best sides, but hopes that being tagged as underdogs may work in the Toffees' favour.

"They are expected to win things every year, whether it be a league or a cup," Baines told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"So it's a massive game for them. Hopefully it'll put a bit more pressure on them and we can enjoy the game.

"It's a game we've got to believe we can win.

"People are going to put Chelsea as the favourites and we're there as underdogs. But there has to be a belief we can go there and put in a good performance."

Historically, Chelsea have had the better of matches between the two clubs, winning 60 of their 156 meetings, while Everton have been victorious on 48 occasions.

This season, the games at Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park both finished goalless, but Baines is hoping that is a positive sign to take to Wembley this weekend.

"It's always tough playing against a side like Chelsea, I think its a long time since we've beaten them, although in a couple of league fixtures this year we've taken a point from both of those," Baines added.

"So that will give us some confidence going into the game."

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old has lauded South Africa international midfielder Steven Pienaar for his displays in the club's shirt throughout the 2008/09 campaign, and intimated that he could be the player that makes the difference on Saturday.

"Playing with Steven is a joy really - he's such a fantastic player," Baines remarked.

"I think anybody who played in behind Steven would enjoy it and he would make anyone look good really.

"He's got everything in his game. He see's things so quickly and he's such an intelligent player and he reads the game so well.

"When we lost Mikel [Arteta to injury] we were looking around for people to step up to the plate and I think Steven has done that. He's really done well for us."