The curtain falls on the coronavirus-interrupted English soccer season on Saturday with the FA Cup Final heralding the end of a surreal campaign. An all-London final is in store as Arsenal take on Chelsea at Wembley; here’s our FA Cup Final betting tips for Saturday’s big match.
This will be unlike any other FA Cup Final with crowds still prohibited from attending, creating a bizarre and eerie occcasion for managers and players alike. Both teams will field young, hungry but relatively inexperienced teams with respective managers Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard seeking their first piece of silverware as manager.
Arsenal and Chelsea both have a solid pedigree with the former a 13-time winner of the FA Cup; while the latter have 8 victories in this competition. The last time these two teams met in a Cup Final of any description was in the Europa League last season where Chelsea routed their fellow Londoners and drove another nail into then-manager Unai Emery’s coffin.
That said, Arsenal have won the last two FA Cup finals they have played against Chelsea and the two teams account for twelve of the last twenty victories with six wins apiece.
CHELSEA LEAGUE FORM STRONGER
Form in the League isn’t always the most reliable in Cup Finals, but Chelsea have the edge having finished higher in the table over their London counterparts who have still looked to be finding their feet under manager Mikel Arteta.
Chelsea finished fourth in the League, securing a Champions League berth for next season, while Arsenal limped across the line in eighth place and need a win at Wembley to see Europa League action next campaign.
In a one-off game scenario however League placings don’t really count for much and both teams travel to Wembley in similar form with the Gunners having won three of their last six matches with two wins and a defeat.
Chelsea meanwhile have won four over the same window with two losses. Looking at their last twenty matches it paints a similar picture with only one draw being the difference in their respective records; both have lost five matches but Arsenal have won 13 games to Chelsea’s 12 games and the rest have been honors-even.
GOALS AT BOTH ENDS CAN DOMINATE FA CUP FINAL
Both teams have had no issue finding the net in their respective matches and Chelsea edge the goals scored 38-34 over the past twenty games; but crucially however they have also conceded more goals than Arsenal, losing 29 goals to Arsenal’s 18 goals.
Both teams have found the net in four of the last five encounters between the London giants and that trend is expected to continue. Both teams are capable of racking up the goals, while neither is particularly solid at the back. Arsenal in particular have struggled to find any consistency and have been a real Jekyll and Hyde team this campaign which perhaps undermines their results to a degree.
Chelsea have looked a more solid and consistent outfit which makes them favorites to land the spoils although five of the last ten matches in all competitions has yielded a draw. They are arguably a better team currently than Arsenal which is reflected in their FA Cup betting odds however.
Chelsea have the edge overall in matches between the two sides with ten wins from twenty over their city rivals, although honors have been shared on six occasions. In terms of goals, Chelsea have outscored Arsenal 33-19 and only one of the last six encounters between them has failed to see both teams scoring.
Neither team is known for playing defensively so we would expect goals at both ends in what could be a pretty high-scoring Final.
WHO CAN HANDLE THE PRESSURE?
With both teams being relatively inexperienced at this stage, the final destination of the trophy may well be decided by who copes best with the pressure associated with the occasion.
Neither side has been particularly mentally resilient; but both did come through tough ties to make the Final although this will demand more again from both teams and Chelsea perhaps just have the edge having handled the occasion better when the two teams met in the Europa League Final.
Chelsea perhaps also came through the toughest semi-final tie when beating Manchester United who went into that match in good form; while Manchester City came off worst against Arsenal although weren’t at their best in that match.
FA CUP FINAL BIG MATCH VERDICT
We expect goals in this game for our FA Cup Final betting tips with both sides finding the net and despite losing the last two Finals they’ve played against their London rivals we believe it will be Frank Lampard’s Chelsea who come out on tip in what could be a battle.
Arsenal have been the most ill-tempered side in the League and the occasion could get to them so there may be a few cards being brandished by referee Anthony Taylor who was also in charge of the FA Cup final the last time these two teams played at this stage in the competition.
The Gunners won that Final 2-1 and Taylor flashed red on that occasion to Chelsea’s Victor Moses as well as a pair of yellow cards in the match. In his 45 matches officiating he’s brandished 186 yellows and 8 reds so there should be a couple of cards shown also in a feisty FA Cup Final.
FA CUP FINAL BETTING TIPS RECOMMENDATION
BET 1: Manchester City to win, both teams to score YES, over 3 cards both teams combined @ +500 (Bet365)
BET 2: Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) to score anytime @ +175 (Bet365)
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