12 Jun 2019
Mourinho and United look to avoid a trophy-less season, whilst Conte looks to leave Chelsea on a high
Now a significant odds-on favourite to leave Chelsea at the end of the season, Antonio Conte will look to finish his latest managerial stint with a victory and his first FA Cup. Meanwhile, after securing second in the Premier League, Jose Mourinho is looking to salvage Manchester United’s season ? which had significant aspirations at the start of the season - with his second FA Cup winners medal.
After a string of five successive victories from mid-April into May, Chelsea had hopes of sneaking into the top 4 places in the Premier League and then carrying that form into the FA Cup final. However, a draw against relegation threatened Huddersfield and a heavy loss to Newcastle on the final day has seen their season finish on a sour note ? with many seeing Conte as a ?dead man walking?.
The two Premier League encounters this season saw low scoring wins for the respective home sides. United were 2-1 winners at Old Trafford, whilst Chelsea kept a clean sheet and won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. After three trophies in his first season at Old Trafford ? including the Community Shield ? Mourinho will hope to avoid a trophy-less season ? that many will already view as a failure after a significant financial outlay in the summer.
For the tenth year in a row, two teams from the first division of English football will square off in the FA Cup Final, which has increasingly been dominated by the ?Big 6? teams in the Premier League. Wigan ? with their surprise win a half decade ago ? remain the only team in recent history to upset the apple cart and either winner on Saturday will continue the big side ascendancy.
A low scoring affair?
The two finalists this year have been incredibly well organized defensively throughout the competition. United have only conceded 1 goal ? against Spurs in the semi-final ? up to this point, with Chelsea conceding just two, including a replay fixture against Norwich. We therefore shouldn’t expect a deluge of goals on the weekend with a United win and under 1.5 goals at 11/2 presenting great value. With two of the best goalkeepers in the world marshalling the defences of both sides, the strikers will have to be on top form in the match to find the back of the net.
Lukaku the difference?
Manchester United will be hopeful that their star man Romelu Lukaku is back fit for the final on Saturday, after missing the previous two Premier League fixtures. Lukaku is the third top scorer in the entire competition this season with five goals at a strike rate of one every 68 minutes. Having already scored against his former club this year, Lukaku ? who should be fit to start ? would be a sensible first goal scorer bet at 5/1. Here’s hoping his goal sparks an exciting game, but with Mourinho a master tactician at just doing enough to win, we could be set for a tight affair on Saturday.
Watch live FA Cup action in your local Genting casino. Find your nearest casino here.
