Cardiff City v Portsmouth


I'm reliably informed that if you fancied these two to meet in the FA Cup final at Wembley this weekend back in August you could have bagged odds of at least 750/1 all day long. Alas I can't imagine the bookies were being knocked over by shop punters desperate to have a few quid on such an eventuality.


731 teams were accepted into this season's competition and it's fair to say only the most optimistic (or possibly drunk) supporters of Cardiff and Pompey would have envisaged their team trotting out on the hallowed turf this Saturday. Pompey go into the match as warm-ish 4/5 favourites and history is very much on their side. Only eight teams playing outside the top-tier of English football have ever won the Cup and the last team to do so was West Ham. That was way back in 1980 when Tucker Jenkins was still in Grange Hill and Dexy's Midnight Runners were topping the charts with timeless soulful ditty 'Geno'.


The Welshmen are general 4/1 pokes to lift the trophy in 90 minutes but I certainly won't be backing them. It's possible they could spring a shock, as Dave Jones' team are certainly no mugs, but I have no time for Cardiff or its people having contracted a particularly nasty STD from a Cardiffian with fake jugs on a lads holiday in Tenerife back in 2001.


Reports this week suggest Harry Redknapp might walk away from Pompey after Saturday's showpiece but despite this I still reckon they have the tools to finish the job they started with a 1-0 win at Ipswich back in January. Milan Baros and Kanu head the first goal betting at 6/1 and 7s respectively while Senegalese sensation Pape Bouba Diop can be backed at a tempting 28s.


I can't see it being a fan-friendly final personally though and reckon goals could be at a premium (a 0-0 stalemate is chalked up at 9/1 with bet365). David James and Sol Campbell are set for a welcome return to action against the Bluebirds which should make Portsmouth much more solid defensively, provided the custodian formerly known as 'Calamity' doesn't have one of his little 'episodes' between the sticks.


My hunch is 1-0 to Pompey, and as much as I'd like Cardiff to score (just to see their fans knock out one of their famous 'Ayatollah' celebrations) I just can't see it happening. I'll be having a bit of medium stakes on the 1-0 at 6/1 but feel the 2/1 about Portsmouth winning and keeping a clean sheet (they have conceded just a single goal in this year's tournament) simply has to be jumped on.