The FA Cup and the Champions League are telling similar stories this season, with the reigning champions strong favourites to retain their crown in the face of opposition from a couple of rejuvenated big names trying to recapture former glories and one surprise interloper.
In the FA Cup, Chelsea are 1.75 favourites to become the first team to lift the trophy in successive seasons since Arsenal in 2002 and 2003. Even more significantly in Carlo Ancelotti's first season in charge, Chelsea's league victory at Old Trafford last weekend has put them in line to complete the first double since Arsenal in 2002. That would be some achievement, as the double was commonplace in the 1990s but has become more difficult with the emergence of a dominant big four in the past decade.
A big-four team have won the FA Cup in all but one of the past 14 years, so Chelsea clearly deserve to be strong favourites and there will not be too many prepared to bet against them in tonight's semi-final against Aston Villa following their 7-1 demolition of Martin O'Neill's team in the league fixture at Stamford Bridge just a fortnight ago.
Villa, for so long one of the sleeping giants of English football, have been reawakened by O'Neill and this season's cup exploits and standout wins in big games have been particularly impressive. They have shown signs of tiredness in the past six weeks, since their League Cup final defeat by Manchester United, but their earlier results - including a home win over Chelsea and victory at Old Trafford - still make them dangerous if they get the right breaks tonight.
One scenario is that Villa score first, and in the league they have lost only once in 18 games from that position. Chelsea, meanwhile, have won only half their games when conceding the first goal.
It is difficult to be confident about Villa reproducing their best form and to go against Chelsea, but still this might not be as easy as the odds suggest.