Who Will Lift the Famous FA Cup This Weekend at Wembley?

The Premier League season finished last weekend with despair for Watford and Bournemouth as they joined Norwich City in the Championship next season, joy for Aston Villa who stayed up and also for both Chelsea and Manchester United who secured Champions League football last season, while Leicester will have been disappointed after being in the top four for almost the entire season, to drop down to fifth on the final day to earn a Europa League spot as consolation.

This weekend though the focus turns to the final piece of domestic silverware available for the top teams, the FA Cup Final and this year it is two familiar faces that meet once again. Arsenal take on Chelsea for the third time in an FA Cup Final this weekend, with the Gunners winning both FA Cup Finals between the teams previously (2-0 in 2002 and 2-1 in 2017). Will the Gunners make it three wins from three against Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, or will Chelsea gain revenge?

Given that the FA Cup is one of the most famous competitions in the world, and that the match will likely go out live to hundreds of countries around the world, it is not surprising that betting sites always look forward to this weekend as people will often enjoy a bet on the game. If you are someone who would like to do that and wants to join a site with a fantastic betting offer for new customers, as well as great FA Cup Final betting markets, then the latest bet365 New Customer Bonus is the perfect place to start,

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Let’s now take a look at the FA Cup Final itself and a closer look at the two teams set to compete before we bring you our take on who we think will lift the trophy on Saturday evening.

FA Cup Final Details

Arsenal v Chelsea

• Venue – Wembley Stadium
• Date – Saturday 1^st August
• Kick Off Time – 5.30pm
• Referee – Anthony Taylor

The game will have extra time and penalties, if required to decide the winner on the night.For both sides, this is their only chance of domestic silverware and for Arsenal, they must win to earn a place in the Europa League next season. If Chelsea win the cup, then Wolves will qualify for the Europa League next season by virtue of finishing 7^th in the Premier League last weekend.

Team Profile – Arsenal

Manager – Mikel Arteta

League Position – 8th (56 points, 56-48 – +8 Goal Difference)

FA Cup Winners – 13 times (a record)

Arsenal Squad

Goalkeepers – Bernd Leno (inj), Emiliano Martinez, Matthew Ryan Macey

Defenders – Kieran Tierney, David Luiz, Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari (inj), Calum Chambers (inj), Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Rob Holding.

Midfielders – Mesut Ozil, Matteo Guendouzi, Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock

Attackers – Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka, Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli (inj), Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson,

Probable Team (3-5-2) – Martinelli, Bellerin, Kolasinac, Holding, Mustafi, David Luiz, Xhaka, Ceballos, Saka, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Arsenal’s Road to Wembley

• 3^rd Round – v Leeds United (H) – W 1-0 (Nelson 55)
• 4^th Round – v Bournemouth (A) – W 2-1 (Saka 5, Nketiah 26)
• 5^th Round – v Portsmouth (A) – W 2-0 (Papasthatopoulos 45, Nketiah 51)
• Quarterfinals – v Sheff Utd (A) – W 2-1 (Pepe 25 (pen), Ceballos 90)
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• Semifinal – v Manchester City (N) – W 2-0 (Aubameyang 19,71)

The most successful team in FA Cup Final history, the Gunners need to win this game against Chelsea to qualify for European football next season in the Europa League. I expect them to name a similar, if not the same team that beat Manchester City so well in the semifinal.

Team Profile – Chelsea

Manager – Frank Lampard

League Position – 4th (66 points, 69-54 – +15 Goal Difference)

FA Cup Winners – 9 times

Chelsea Squad

Goalkeepers – Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero, Jamie Cumming

Defenders – Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Fikayo Tomori, Emerson Palmieri

Midfielders – Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante (Doubt), Billy Gilmour (inj), Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley, Tino Anjorin

Attackers – Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Willian (Doubt), Pedro, Michy Batshuayi

Probable Team (4-3-3) – Caballero, James, Alonso, Rudiger, Zouma, Willian, Kovacic, Mount, Jorginho, Giroud, Pulisic.

Chelsea’s Road to Wembley

• 3^rd Round – v Nottingham Forest (H) – W 2-0 (Hudson Odoi 6, Barkley 33)
• 4^th Round – v Hull City (A) – W 2-1 (Batshuayi 6, Tomori 64)
• 5^th Round – v Liverpool (H) – W 2-0 (William 13, Barkley 64)
• Quarterfinals – v Leicester (A) – W 1-0 (Barkley 63)
• Semifinal – v Manchester United (N) – W 3-1 (Giroud 45, Mount 46, Maguire OG 74)

Chelsea secured Champions League football next season with a win over Wolves on the final day of the season. That is a big relief for them and means that they can now focus on winning the FA Cup which would be a fantastic achievement for Frank Lampard in his first full season as Chelsea boss.

FA Cup Final Prediction

My gut feeling is that this one may well be very closely fought and see both sides find the net as they tend to in matches between these two teams.  I’m backing Chelsea for the win at 11/10 with bet365 Sport, while a 2-1 Chelsea win is an 8/1 shot.