Arsenal v Aston Villa
Saturday 30th May – Kickoff: 1730hrs
Football – England – FA Cup Betting
The FA Cup final may have lost some of the romance and importance in recent times compared to previous generations, but that will certainly not be the case for Arsenal and Aston Villa come 5.30pm on Saturday. Management, staff, players and supporters of both clubs will be feeling a combination of nerves and excitement ahead of the match at Wembley. 80,000 supporters are expected to descend on the national stadium, with the Gunners hoping to retain the trophy they won 12 months ago against Hull, and Villa looking to win their first trophy of any kind since their League Cup triumph in 1996. Although there were 14 places and 37 points separating the two in this season’s Premier League, one-off cup games so often act as leveller and the occasion will also add to that. Arsenal, themselves, know that they will have to be at their best having got a huge fright in last year’s final when going down 2-0 in the first half.
Tim Sherwood was brought in to replace Paul Lambert as Aston Villa manager earlier this year in an attempt to secure the club’s Premier League status. He has achieved that, only just, and led them to their first final in this competition since 2000. It is an exciting end to what has been a pretty underwhelming campaign, but they have shown some of their best form in the FA Cup. What has been in Villa’s favour is the fact that they were drawn at home in all four ties before the semi-final. Narrow wins over Championship clubs Blackpool and Bournemouth were followed by another two close-encounters with fellow Premier League outfits Leicester City and West Brom – the latter of which being a derby. Those successes led them to a clash with Liverpool at Wembley, last month. Many expected them to lose out at that stage but Sherwood’s men turned in the best performance of their season and deservedly won through to Saturday’s final.
Having went nine years without winning a trophy of any kind, Arsene Wenger and his players are on the verge of a second successive FA Cup. It may not be the league title or Champions League, but there is an argument that simply getting into a habit of winning trophies on a regular basis is exactly what is needed for Arsenal before they progress and challenge for those top competitions. The holders have had a couple of frights along the way to the final, including being taken to extra-time by Championship club Reading in the semi-final. Aside from that, Arsenal also had to contend with a trip to Old Trafford in the quarter-final. The man who scored the winning goal that night, Danny Welbeck, will not play any part against Villa on Saturday after picking up an injury. He may not have started but there’s no doubt Wenger would have liked to have had the England internationalist as an option.
If Saturday’s final was to be played on paper then it would likely be another comprehensive win for Arsenal. The North London club have already defeated Villa 3-0 and 5-0 this season, looking far superior in both matches. The latter of those defeats was one of the last games in charge for Lambert so it would be unfair to judge Tim Sherwood’s team on the basis of those performances, but it is the same squad of players and they have to take a lot of responsibility and try to make amends for those heavy defeats by turning in a display worthy of winning their first FA Cup in 58 years.
Arsenal v Aston Villa Betting Tips
I fully acknowledge the difference in quality between these clubs but FA Cup finals are rarely blow-outs. You have to go back to 2004 for a final to have been won by a margin of two or more goals. Since then, there have been four draws after 90 minutes, four 1-0 wins and the other two finishing 2-1. I can see Saturday’s game being a similarly close affair, but I think there is enough to suggest that both teams can get on the scoresheet. For all Villa have looked devoid of ideas going forward at times this season, in Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke they have two attackers who – when on their game – can cause any defence problems. Sherwood has also given his team more freedom to express themselves and in the semi-final they were by far the better team and causes Liverpool a lot of problems in possession and on the counter-attack. Arsenal have no end of attacking options at their disposal but they have shown themselves to be vulnerable on big occasions and their style of play, and approach to the game, means opponents will get chances.
Both Teams to Score 10/11 @ Ladbrokes
