Stan Hey: 6-5 against
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Your support makes all the difference.It is the pub quiz final – which team was the only one outside England to win the FA Cup? (Cardiff City in 1927); which team won the Cup then held it for seven years? (Portsmouth in 1939 – there were no further finals until 1946). Neither club has won since, so today's final has a distinctly old-fashioned feel to it.
Portsmouth are favourites – best odds are 4-5 with Bet 365, with Cardiff at 22-5 with VC Bet, for 90 minutes only. But who can score for Pompey? With Jermain Defoe ineligible, they rely on misfit David Nugent, the goalless Milan Baros and the veteran Nwankwo Kanu. They've bagged only one goal in their last five games.
Cardiff, in contrast, have a decent mix of promising youth (Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey) and experience (Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Darren Purse). Unless Pompey's midfield starts banging goals in, I can see this being a draw – £5 on 1-1 at 6-1 Coral (90 min); then £5 Portsmouth to win on penalties (10-1 Totesport).
Chelsea and Manchester United meet on Wednesday for the European Cup final. United were shamelessly cautious against Barcelona but should be more attacking now. We have Chelsea at 7-1, struck before the knockout phase. A pro punter would lay off on United – but there isn't a corpuscle in my red Scouse blood that would let me back a Manchester win. Instead £2.50 each-way goes on Majestic Roi (20-1 Ladbrokes) in today's Lockinge at Newbury.
Last week's wagers
All were ante-post and are still in play. The previous week's golf bets bombed (£30 lost) as Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson faded on the final day, while Sean O'Hair, er, missed the cut.
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