FA Cup Final Preview

In the movie The Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy the answer is 42 though the question is not clear. Perhaps it is how many teams have lifted the FA Cup? Wigan will hope to become the 43rd side when they take on Man City this Saturday.

Saturday teatime is usually more associated with reality shows like The Voice and Britain Has Got Talent instead of the FA Cup Final. The powers that be have decided that many fans struggling to get home is not important and the game will kick-off 17.15. Man City start as the overwhelming favourites for this game and are 4/11 (GENERAL) to win in 90 minutes while they are 1/5 (ladbrokes) to lift the trophy. The head-to-head record does not look good for Wigan as they have failed to score a single goal in each of their last seven meetings with Man City. If you think Wigan can spring the shock then you can back them at 9/2 (bet365) to lift the trophy or 19/2 (BETVICTOR) to win in 90 minutes.

As the game looks quite one sided bookmakers have gone to town with over 350 markets (at time of writing) to bet on. One of the most popular markets is the first goalscorer bet and Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are both 4/1 (GENERAL). Tevez has a good record against Wigan having netted seven in 12 previous appearances against them. This year in the FA Cup has also been good to Tevez as he has netted five and assisted two. Other options are Edin Dzeko at 5/1 (GENERAL), Yaya Toure at 7/1 (GENERAL) and David Silva at 17/2 (SPREADEX). Those looking for a Wigan player can get Arouna Kone at 14/1 (bet365/BETVICTOR), Franco Di Santo at 16/1 (BWIN) while Shaun Maloney is also 16/1 (GENERAL). At bigger prices Callum McManaman has scored in three successive cup appearances and can be backed at 22/1 (BWIN) to score first or 7/1 (BWIN) to score anytime.

One bet I like the look of in this game is in the Home Team Half of Most Goals Betting where the second half looks the bet. You can get 6/5 (ladbrokes) on Man City scoring more goals in the second half than in the first. Wigan had a tough game in midweek against Swansea which through an unfortunate injury they ended up playing most of the last ten minutes with ten men. This might catch up with them towards the end and with another big game with Arsenal in midweek they might start to conserve energy levels. Another bet I like the look of is the under 2.5 goals (11/8 BETVICTOR/CORAL) which would have paid in four of the six previous FA Cup finals (the other two ending 2-1). These sides have been very tight throughout the cup campaign with Wigan shipping just twice while Man City have shipped just once. The last five FA Cup finals involving two sides both from the top tier have produced a total of just nine goals. The final bet is returning to the goalscorer markets and taking a punt on Pablo Zabaleta where he is 33/1 (BETVICTOR/CORAL/BWIN) to grab the opener or 12/1 (CORAL) to score anytime. The Wigan system of three at the back asks a lot of the full-backs and leaves space which Zabaleta can exploit.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Second half to feature more goals in FA Cup final, 6/5 (ladbrokes)
SILVER: Under 2.5 goals in the FA Cup final, 11/8 (BETVICTOR/CORAL)
BRONZE: Pablo Zabaleta to score v Wigan, first 33/1 (BETVICTOR/CORAL/BWIN), anytime 12/1 (CORAL).

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11/05/2013     © Frixo 2026