It’s all balls this weekend when it comes to finals. There may not be any ground to air missiles guarding Wembley or Sheffield, but some explosive action is assured.
Who do you fancy for the FA Cup? I’m not a Chelsea fan myself, though I do admire what Di Matteo has achieved in his short time there. My natural approach is to support the underdogs, and at 11/5 Liverpool are only just behind with Chelsea at 13/8, so there’s no major betting fun there. Ladbroke’s are offering 9/1 on a goalless draw, and BetVictor 6/1 on a 1-1 draw.
How about Didier Drogba? He seems to be on fire right now. There’s 15/2 for him to score first (Stan James), and there’s 50/1 available on him getting a hat-trick. He’s favourite to score more than two, at 11/1, followed by Torres (12/1) and Luis Suarez at 14/1. That’s a bit more like it!
Now over toSheffield. I watched Hendry’s retirement with sadness – he’s been a great ambassador of the game. Stephen Maguire’s win was comprehensive, but at least Hendry picked up a great 147 last week.
As I write, the Crucible is hotting up. The semis are not yet over and Ali Carter is at 2/9 against Maguire (9/2), with O’Sullivan very heavily fancied at 1/41 against Matthew Stephens (20/1). I’ve watched a few of the Carter wins, and he’s looking assured, but will O Sullivan’s greater experience hold out against the younger man’s flair? Carter demonstrated that he can handle the pressure, but this is the big one, the title that every professional wants.
The money says that experience will be the key, with O Sullivan at 17/50 and Carter 4/1. I think it will go to the wire and I see a late Sunday night ahead for me!