Andy's FA Cup tips - Man City to end wait
This isn't the final many would have expected but no-one could argue that either Stoke or Manchester City don't deserve to be at Wembley. Manchester City knocked out the team that has been the best in the country throughout the season when they beat Manchester United, whilst Stoke have gone into unchartered territory and come up trumps when it really mattered...
Manchester City v Stoke
A lot of football fans tuning in to watch the FA Cup Final will be expecting this to be a done deal and for Manchester City to win this pretty comfortably. Look at their respective league positions and the calibre of players at their disposal and it's pretty obvious why they are favourites.
But football doesn't always work like that and that's why we love watching it. There will have been plenty of burnt fingers when odds-on backers thought all Arsenal needed to do to win the Carling Cup Final was show up. And look what happened there.
Tony Pulis will be instructing his players to carry on doing exactly what has kept them safely in the Premier League once again and got them to Wembley in this competition. Fight for everything, work hard when they don't have the ball and try to make something happen from any throw-ins and set-pieces that come their way.
The one concern for Pulis is that they may not be as successful against Manchester City as they may be against other sides when it comes to dead-ball situations because their opponents are a big team.
Arsenal didn't defend them at all on Sunday and that cost them, but in players like Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Micah Richards, Roberto Mancini has some big old units who aren't afraid to put their heads in the way and take a few knocks in the process.
But Yaya Toure is more than just a physical presence and his runs and goals from midfield have been a big factor in Manchester City's success this season. David Silva had a slight dip in form about a month ago but his performances in the last few matches have been superb and I expect this pair to be pulling the strings in their midfield and making things happen.
Then of course there's Carlos Tevez. He got a few minutes on Tuesday night to try and convince Mancini that he's fit enough to start this match and that will be the big decision the Italian has to make on the day. It's a tough choice. If Tevez starts and hobbles off after quarter of an hour, he'll have to waste a substitution early on and rethink his tactics. If he keeps him on the bench and they end up losing, there will be an inquiry as to why he did so.
Whatever happens as regards Tevez, I think Manchester City will end up winning this match and finally get some silverware to put in the cabinet. I think Stoke will score at least once and I can see Jermaine Pennant giving Aleksandar Kolarov a torrid time throughout the match, but that shouldn't affect the end result.
Recommended Bets:
Back Manchester City to win in 90 minutes at [1.94]
Back both teams to score at [2.0]
Back Manchester City to win 2-1 at [10.0]
Back Manchester City to win 3-1 at [18.0]
Andy Gray is on Twitter so follow him for his exclusive tips and his take on the biggest stories in football each week.
Published: 13 May 2011
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