FA Cup Tips: Chelsea

Misty-eyed romantics may think of the FA Cup as the greatest domestic cup competition in the world. The stark reality is a predictable competition dominated by the big boys.

FA Cup Winners

In the last ten years no team finished lower than 8th in the Premier League in the year they won the FA Cup. The big teams are often castigated for a lack of respect for the competition, yet they still end up winning it. Astonishingly eight of the last ten winners finished in the top-3!

The top of the league is therefore the logical place to start. The two Manchester clubs look like battling it out for the title with third place seemingly up for grabs. Chelsea are the current incumbents and look a good bet to finish there. Despite their recent problems, they are 2/7 (BetVictor) to finish in the top-4 this season, the only other teams odds-on in this market are Man Utd and Man City. 

Rafa Benitez might not be the most popular man at Stamford Bridge but this might work in our favour. The Spaniard knows the way to win over fans is with silverware, so don’t expect him to take the competition lightly. Having reached two Champions League finals with Liverpool, Benitez is also something of a cup specialist.

Chelsea haven’t got a bad cup reputation themselves. They have won three of the last four FA Cups and sit joint 4th on the all-time list. A third round tie away to Southampton might look tricky on paper but the priority for the Saints is to stay in the Premier League, so expect Nigel Adkins to rotate his squad for the match.

All the trends point towards a top-half team winning the cup and at 15/2 (Bet365), Chelsea look a good bet given their recent history and motivation.