The curtain comes down on the domestic season in England this afternoon and what a showstopper of an FA Cup Final we have in store at Wembley.
In the blue corner, Manchester City, with the Premier League already in the bag, vying for a domestic Double and a potential historic Treble.
In the red corner, Manchester United, winners of the League Cup, aiming to round off their season with a cup Double and arguably more importantly, out to prevent their city rivals from equaling their own Treble triumph of 2009.
Let battle commence…
This is the biggest week in Man City’s history, win the next two games and they’ll go down as one of the greatest sides the country has ever seen but the last team they’d want to be facing in today’s FA Cup final is Man Utd.
There’s no disputing that City are the best team in England but the Red Devils have won four of the last nine meetings and with the added incentive of protecting their club’s 2009 legacy this is not the gimme that the 1/2 odds on Pep’s side suggests.
There has to be some value in United at 19/4 in a one-off game. The Red Devils won the last meeting between the sides, coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals by Fernandes and Rashford so on their day they’ll know they can get the better of the champions.
Bet365 go 6/4 in the Double Chance market or you can have a huge 3/1 on the Draw No Bet.
If you fancy City it’s hard to get on them from a betting perspective unless they rack up a few goals. Two or more is only slightly bigger, at 8/15, than the outright win. Three or more pays 13/8.
Erling Haaland, who scored a hat-trick against United earlier in the season is a 4/6 shot to score whilst the other hat-trick hero that day, Phil Foden is 11/4 to net.
Marcus Rashford will be United’s biggest goal threat at 11/4 to score and Bruno Fernandes, who will be on penalty duties, is 9/2.
18 of the 22 FA Cup finals this millennium have either finished level or been won by a one-goal margin. The draw today pays 15/4 while a single-goal margin victory for either team is 13/8.
Scottish Cup Final
Much of the noise in the build-up to the Scottish Cup Final has been around the rumours linking Ange Postecoglou to the vacant Spurs managerial position.
The Aussie and his players have done their best to convince Celtic fans that all they’ve been focused on all week is delivering a historic eighth Treble for the club at Hampden this evening.
There have been no such distractions for opponents Inverness Caledonian Thistle who haven’t kicked a ball competitively for almost a full calendar month.
A 2-1 home defeat to Ayr Utd on the final day of the season consigned them to sixth place in the Championship, a disappointing end to a campaign that had seen Caley flirt with automatic promotion at one stage.
A Scottish Cup win, and with it a shot at the Europa League, would be ample compensation but to say they’re up against it would be a massive understatement.
They’re 16/1 to repeat previous cup shocks against the Hoops but even that feels a bit skinny.
Celtic might have tailed off in recent weeks but all the hard work had already been done. This Celtic team is relentless and ruthless – just ask Aberdeen, the third best team in the country, who were on the end of a 5-0 drubbing when all of Celtic’s big guns turned up.
Of course, anything can happen in a one-off match as Caley’s wins over the Hoops in 2000 and again in 2015 prove but this feels different, this is a Celtic team on the cusp of a world record eighth Treble, who’ve scored 144 goals this season and who, in the words of Postecoglou “never stop”.
If Celtic get their noses in front early it could be a long afternoon for the Highlanders. The Hoops have scored inside the first 15 minutes in over half their Premiership matches this season so the warning signs are there for Caley. Bet365 offer 11/4 on Celtic to score before the 10 minutes mark.
But a better bet looks to be the 11/10 on two or more Celtic goals in the first 45 minutes. Celtic hit two or more in a whopping 89% of Premiership games and just 13% of matches were goalless at half-time. Chances are the Bhoys will come out all guns blazing yet again.
Celtic will dominate possession and with that should win the corner corner count comfortably. They’re 10/11 -6 on the corner handicap which isn’t a bad option or 1.800 (4/5) on the Asian Corners -6.0 which means money back if they have exactly six more than Caley.
As for Celtic’s Corner count alone you’d need nine to get even money which is above their league average (7.79) so probably best left alone.
Goalscorer betting will be popular but 30-goal Kyogo Furuhashi is a lamentable 1/4 to net anytime. The Japanese striker picked up a knock last week but should play.
Jota could be a better option at 1/1 money as the Portuguese playmaker has popped up on the big occasions for the Hoops in the past. As has captain Callum McGregor who scored in the 2018 final and is 2/1 to score today.
All in all, it should be a comfortable afternoon for the green half of Glasgow who can go some way to putting that infamous SuperCaleyGoBallisticCelticAreAtrocious headline to rest.
FA Cup Final Tips
- City v United – Match to be won by a one goal margin 13/8 Bet365
- Marcus Rashford to score 11/4 Bet365
- Bonkers Bet: City 1 United 2 16/1 Bet365
- BetBuilder: BTTS, Draw or Man Utd, Rashford to score first 16/1 Bet365
Scottish Cup Final Tips
- Celtic to score 2+ first half goals 11/10 Bet365
- Jota to score 1/1 Bet365
- Bonkers Bet: Celtic 5 Inverness 0 9/1 Bet365
- BetBuilder: Celtic to lead at HT, Celtic to score 4+ Goals, Jota first scorer 12/1 Bet365
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Sat 15:00 Manchester City vs Manchester United
- Sat 17:30 Celtic vs Inverness CT
- Sun 16:30 Ross County vs Partick Thistle
Racing Tips
It’s Epsom Derby day and Rizzel has picked out four selections for the big day at the Surrey track, including one in the main attraction.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Saturday’s Top Tips: Who’ll Have Their Say on FA Cup & Scottish Cup Final Day? appeared first on MrFixitsTips.