Betting Match Preview: Chelsea v. Everton (FA Cup final)

Chelsea v Everton, FA Cup final, May 30, 2009

Everton come into this showpiece Wembley final as heavy underdogs against Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea side that have been almost unbeatable under the Dutch tactician.

Since Hiddink was appointed in mid-February, Chelsea have lost just one game (away at Tottenham in the league) in 21 and have been mightily impressive securing wins against Juventus, Liverpool, and Arsenal twice, while only losing to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final on away goals.

Ever since Chelsea lost the Champions League final in Moscow, there has been a burning ambition from many of their players to claim some silverware and this was evident in the events during and after the second leg against Barcelona.

A win over Everton on Saturday (Chelsea are 3/4 to win) would go some way to re-establishing Chelsea as a side that wins silverware on a regular basis. The Blues last claimed a trophy when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the 2007 FA Cup final. (Everton are 10/1 to claim a repeat 1-nil win.)

Another season without silverware for Roman Abramovich must be unthinkable and after the incredible job Hiddink has done, Chelsea should have enough about them to see off David Moyes’ spirited side.

Hiddink was fortunate to come into the Stamford Bridge hot-seat as Michael Essien returned from injury, but he has also revived the Chelsea careers of Florent Malouda and Alex. Additionally, Hiddink can be credited for finally finding a formula to get Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka playing effectively together in the same team.

Anelka (11/2 to be the first goalscorer), in particular, has hardly received many plaudits since claiming the Golden Boot and the Everton defence will have their hands full trying to contain the Frenchman and his Ivorian strike-partner. We can also expect Frank Lampard (4/1 to score from outside the box) and John Terry to be gung-ho about a trophy that, as proud Englishmen, holds a special place in football folklore.

To add to Everton’s difficulties, we have to go back to November 2000 for the Merseyside club’s last win over their London rivals. And despite their two draws this season, the Toffees will be relying on a similar cup shock of the type they produced to win the 1995 FA Cup final against Manchester United.

David Moyes will be familiar with the feeling of taking his weakened side into a big game and there is no doubt the Scotsman has produced a minor miracle to finish fifth and reach the cup final without two of his side’s best players - Mikel Arteta and Aiyegbeni Yakubu. The former Preston boss is further hampered going into the final without semi-final penalty hero Phil Jagielka, while Jo, who whose loan move was another Moyes master-stroke, is cup-tied.

Much of Everton’s attacking responsibility will fall on Tim Cahill (11/4 to score) and Marouane Fellaini (7/2 to score), who will likely lead the line on Saturday, and if the score does remain at 0-0, either of these two goal-scoring midfielders could snatch an unlikely winner.

After much discussion of the merits of the Wembley pitch following the semi-finals, the play-off games seemed to suggest that there is a lot more “life” to the hallowed turf. This should suit Chelsea who will be able to exploit the wide open spaces with their pacey and powerful attackers.

Everton probably deserve to win the cup having seen off Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United in earlier rounds but Chelsea’s physically strong and efficient side are one of the form teams in Europe and with their superior know-how in big games should have too much for a gallant effort from the Toffees.

101gg predicts: Chelsea 3 - Everton 1 (14/1) & Marouane Fellaini to pick up the first booking (9/1)

Full match odds here.