Manchester City are worthy FA Cup final favourites but whether or not there should be quite such a discrepancy in price between them and their opponents, Stoke City, I’m not so sure and I’ll be taking on Mancini’s men.
Having secured Champions League football for next season with a 1-0 win over Tottenham on Tuesday, the focus for the Eastlands club now switches to landing a first piece of silverware in 35 years. There are enough reasons to oppose City however, including the form of their opponents, and the 1.90 about them winning inside 90 minutes is skinny.
City booked their return to Wembley having taken care of rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals at the famous stadium and they thoroughly deserved to beat the Red Devils that day. United had started well however, Dimitar Berbatov guilty of two glaring misses, and if Stoke can make the initial breakthrough then I think they could be tough to peg back.
We saw on Tuesday just how well City perform when protecting a lead, it was relatively straightforward for the Citizens to repel Tottenham’s challenge despite conceding plenty of possession in the second half, but the concern all season has been that City lack a punch and Carlos Tevez remains an injury doubt.
Mancini has been roundly criticised all season for being too negative in his approach but his attacking options, including Edin Dzeko, who could start if Tevez is deemed unfit, have largely disappointed and their strength lies at the back.
While City have achieved the bare minimum this season by securing a top-four spot, Stoke have excelled once again under their magnificent manager Tony Pullis and the Welshman will lead the Potters out for their first FA Cup final appearance.
It comes on the back of a 3-1 Premier League win over Arsenal, Stoke currently sit in eighth place, and Pullis’ side have lost just once in their previous nine matches.
That sole defeat in the past two months came at White Hart Lane, no disgrace, and Stoke have proved they have plenty of strength in depth with a strong finish to another terrific campaign.
Beaten just once in their past six matches against their big-spending opponents, Stoke will relish their tag as underdogs on Saturday and I’m fairly confident they can cause an upset. Extra-time looks a distinct possibility but one couldn’t rule out Stoke nicking it in regulation and the agonising trophy wait could go on for the Eastlands club.
3pts Lay Man City (vs. Stoke) @ 1.90 (Betfair)