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Pompey The Value Call For Final
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22/04/08
Despite the fact this is the first time since 2004 that a non Premiership team has reached the FA Cup Final the market is fairly close. Portsmouth are 8/11 with VC Bet and Coral to win in 90 minutes whilst Cardiff are 4/1 with Stan James and the draw is 9/4 with Stan James.
With Portsmouth looking destined to finish outside of the European placings in the league they will have the opportunity to rest players for the Final for the rest of the season so there will be no excuses if they lose. Portsmouth also have a magnificent record away from home so the 8/11 looks good value for them to finish the job in the 90 minutes.
Eleven of the last fifteen FA Cup Finals have seen at least one team keep a clean sheet. Portsmouth have won four of their five FA Cup matches this season by one goal to nil. Cardiff are hardly prolific in front of goal so you would expect Portsmouth to keep a clean sheet and the 1-0 scoreline looks as good a correct score bet as you will find at 6/1 with Coral.
Back Portsmouth to beat Cardiff in the FA Cup Final @ 8/11 with VC Bet
Back Portsmouth to win the FA Cup Final 1-0 @ 6/1 with Coral
30/01/08
Liverpool and Chelsea must feel that the FA Cup gods are favouring them in 2008. We can benefit from their good fortune in the 5th round draw by backing them to win the competition outright. Liverpool are a best priced 4/1 with Boylesports and Chelsea are 5/2 with SkyBet. These prices will shorten after their next cup matches whatever happens in the Manchester United v Arsenal game.
25/09/07
In the first fifteen FA Cups since the beginning of the Premiership only one team outside of the big four won the competition and that was Everton in 1996. This is a very strong statistic suggesting it is only sensible to bet on one of the big four.
Consistency is also a must in any FA Cup winner. Teams that throw in a poor performance every few games are not going to be good bets for the competition. This is also the case for any team that struggles away from home. Even with the best of draws a finalist is going to have to play a couple of away games so strong home and away performances will be required.
This Season
There is little to choose between the big four this season. Manchester United and Chelsea started the season indifferently but are still likely to put up strong performances this season. The 4/1 at William Hill for Manchester United and 5/1 on offer with Sky Bet for Chelsea are not bad prices but they don’t really appeal as value bets either.
Arsenal have performed brilliantly in this competition under Arsene Wenger and whilst another good season looks on the cards there has to be a doubt over a very young squad performing well in all competitions. With the Premiership and Champions League very much the man targets for Arsenal it is conceivable that this cup may have to be sacrificed so despite a generous looking 7/1 with Stan James they are not the pick.
Liverpool look to have a really strong squad this year with Rafa Benitez splashing the cash again this season. They look to have enough firepower to at least make it to the final and their strong away record is another plus point. The 6/1 available at Ladbrokes is the most appealing bet in the FA Cup and a very good run for our money is expected at the very least.
2 pts on Liverpool to win the FA Cup @ 6/1 with Ladbrokes | 
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