Football Betting Previews

FA Cup Final 2009: Chelsea V Everton betting preview (Thursday, May 28, 2009)

FA Cup Final 2008-2009 Chelsea V Everton - Saturday 15:00 ITV1 With the pressure of everyday life in the Premiership now put to bed, for this season at least, the attention of the nation will now turn towards the show piece, which is The FA Cup. Manchester United won both the Premiership title and the Carling Cup but fortunately, for the neutral at least, there won't be a 'Red Devil' in sight this Saturday although many in Manchester might be cheering on the team from Merseyside. Liverpool you say, don't be silly. David Moyes and Everton make up one half of what is an intriguing final with Guus Hiddink's Chelsea but with Chelsea's trophy cabinet brimming in recent years, we expect most of England and probably the world, to get behind the underdogs and cheer on the 'Toffees'. Last years FA Cup Final was a bit of a let down, no disrespect to the two sides involved but we all want to see two of the country's best sides in action, doing all they can to win the prestigious competition. That unfortunately wasn't the case last season as two surprise finalist in West Brom and Portsmouth did battle at Wembley in May last year. The underdogs didn't prevail that day with Portsmouth edging out a tedious final, winning 1-0. This final, however, does have the makings of another tight affair with the two league meetings between the two sides both ending 0-0. However, Guus Hiddink has already gone head-to-head with David Moyes last month with neither manager celebrating a victory, but this time we fancy the Dutchman to get the better of the Scot and pull off another tactical master-stroke as he aims to lead Chelsea to last piece of silverware left to play for. Both managers will be looking to end the season in the best possible way but only one will get their hands on the trophy at the end of the day. Unfortunately, from a neutral perspective, I can't see this being a goal crazy final at Wembley. The final features two sides who do play with a side of caution, especially Everton. The first 10-20 minutes could be a case of both sides testing the water, with goals coming at a premium. However, although we don't expect David Moyes to change his defensive ways, we do hold a glimmer of hope on Guus Hiddink altering his. In our opinion, Everton are their for the taking and it would be a surprise to us were Chelsea not to come away with the FA Cup. They have far too many quality players on show and they posses the ability to rapidly go up the gears if and when they wish. David Moyes on the other hand will look to deploy a side capable of defending in numbers, a tactic the players should be familar with by now. However, we don't expect for one minute that Everton will spend the entire game in their own half. Moyes will set his side up to defend deep when not in possession but also look to pounce on the Chelsea back four when on the counter. Steven Piennar will be Everton's biggest threat going forward as the kid posses a great deal of pace but Everton's main source of a acquiring a goal will probably come from Set-pieces. The Chelsea back line will need to be ship-tight as the likes of Joleen Lescott and Tim Cahill will get a lot of luck from crosses as Liverpool found out earlier in the tournament. Guus Hiddink doesn't have any fresh injury concerns with Joe Cole the obvious absentee. Frank Lampard did miss Chelsea's final game of the season in their 3-2 win away at Sunderland, but that was just precautionary and also a chance to give Chelsea's best player a well deserved rest after a long season. John Obi Mikel was his replacement that day but we expect the Nigerian to drop back to the bench with Essien occupying the holding role which will allow Lampard the freedom to roam the centre of the park. We do expect Hiddink to start with both Drogba and Nicolas Anelka up front though with the latter finishing the season as the leagues top goalscorer with 19 goals in the Premiership. Our only real question mark over Chelsea's probable line up is whether Hiddink gives Michael Ballack another chance after the German Captain was dropped to the bench on Sunday. The former Bayern Munich player hasn't had the best of seasons at the club and rumours are circulating that he maybe on his way out of Chelsea in a bid to build a summer transfer kitty. David Moyes has had to contend with injuries all season so he will be used to picking an under-strength side. Yakubu, Nuno Valente, Victor Anichebe, Mikel Arteta and more importantly, Everton's player of the season will also miss out on a rare final appearance with Phil Jagielka suffering a Cruciate Ligament injury. The latter two players are big losses for the Everton fans, more so for David Moyes as once again he has to pick from a depleted squad ahead of Everton's biggest game for some time. Fair play to David Moyes. He maintained a high standard right up until the final set of fixtures and put out a very strong side at Craven Cottage. It paid dividends with a 2-0 victory over Fulham and that win should stand Everton in good stead ahead of the final. Jo, Dan Gosling and Marouane Fellani were all given a small rest, playing bit parts from the bench on Sunday. What's more, Phil Neville, Louis Saha and Steven Piennar all came off midway through the second half with Moyes blatantly bearing Saturday's final in mind. We would love to predict an exciting final and full of goal mouth action but we simple can't see it happening. David Moyes will drill it into his players not to concede an early goal as that will lead to Everton chasing the game. We expect a cagey first half which might come to life in last 45 minutes. If you're on goals, you will almost certainly need an early one to open up the play. We will have a fun bet on Nicolas Anelka having the last laugh but in all honesty, even we aren't too sure how this final will pan out. Chelsea - 1.8 SkyBet Draw - 3.6 Bet365 Everton - 5.0 PaddyPower SoccerBetting Tip - Nicolas Anelka Last Goalscorer @ 6/1 WilliamHill Labels: Chelsea V Everton betting preview, FA Cup Final 2009 betting preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 9:36 AM