FA Cup Final: Anytime Goalscorer Tip

With Manchester City well-established as favourites there is plenty of value to be had if you think Stoke will have some joy in the final. The benefit of the anytime goalscorer market is that your bet stays active through the whole course of the match, however it plays out, so long as your pick is on the pitch. This latter point confuses matters where the Man City strikers are concerned, as there is no way of knowing at this point how much play Carlos Tevez will muster on his return from injury. As a highly possible substitute, the 11/10 available on the Argentinian scoring in 90 minutes is flawed. As a knock-on effect the 11/8 on Balotelli scoring, or Dzeko at 8/5 are also opposable.

My interest has instead been piqued by the Potters. The strike partnership of Kenwyne Jones and Jonathan Walters is a certainty, and both men are in a rich vein of form. Jones, the club record signing for £8m, has bagged a goal in five of Stoke’s previous six matches. At odds of 10/3 with bet365, he is well priced to repeat the trick. But perhaps offering even better value is the ex-Bolton striker Walters, the man who scored two second half strikes against his former club in the 5-0 semi-final romp at Wembley. That made it five FA Cup goals for the season for Walters, who also bagged a brace against Cardiff.

Walters had been earning rave reviews even before the semi final, having been named as the man of the match against Chelsea, when he opened the scoring. That followed a strike in the 4-0 hammering of Newcastle and he added to his tally with the late sealer against Arsenal only last Sunday. At 4/1 with bet365 to score at anytime in 90 minutes, he has shown his pedigree by finding the net against big teams, and on big occasions. He will return to Wembley full of relish after his exploits there against Bolton. At longer odds, he just gets the nod over his team-mate Jones.