FA Cup Semi Finals Betting – Aston Villa v Chelsea highlight

With only one FA Cup Quarter Final replay to come, the line up for the Semi Finals is pretty much set. The big tie is between Aston Villa and Chelsea, after their wins against Reading and Stoke respectively. Chelsea have been strong favourites to retain the FA Cup from the outset, and have comfortably made their way back to Wembley. The semi finals are held at Wembley on April 10th and 11th and look to be setting up some thrilling matches. Villa inflicted a defeat upon Chelsea in the league earlier in the season, and so Carlo Ancelotti will having something interesting to throw into his team talk in preparations. Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa have been one of the successes of the season, reaching the Carling Cup final as well. For Aston Villa, the FA Cup represents a great chance to make amends for a loss there to Man Utd.

Villa’s win over Reading in the Quarter Finals, was the first time O’Neill had won a match in March since taking over at Villa. Their reward has been the toughest draw they could get in the semi final, but you generally have to beat the best at some point to win a competition. They will have nothing to fear though, having beaten them and Manchester United this season. Portsmouth, for whom the FA Cup has been the one bright spark of the season so far, as they face financial and Premier League survival. Pompey earned a proud and battling victory for their fans and boss Avram Grant over Birmingham on Saturday to book their place in the semi’s. Can they complete a fairy tale in the FA after so much doom and gloom? Imagine him lifting the cup in the final against his old club Chelsea!

Fulham and Tottenham played out a stalemate, as was expected. Spurs will probably be happier with that, with a whole host of injury problems at the moment. Taking the fixture back to White Hart Lane, where they have the opportunity to put out a stronger side, will make them favourites. But Fulham are no pushovers this season, as they are going well in Europe and safe and secure in the middle of the league. They have played some good football, and there should be a lot of life left in this tie yet. The replay is on March 24th.

FA Cup Outright
Chelsea – 11/10 at Totesport
Tottenham – 7/2 at Totesport
Aston Villa – 9/2 at Stan James
Fulham – 14/1 at Stan James
Portsmouth – 14/1 at Coral