FA Cup final: Arsenal v Chelsea betting preview, free tip and TV channel

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Arsenal v Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.

Where to watch

BBC1, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Chelsea
1pt 11-10 general

Team news

Arsenal
Bernd Leno, Gabriel Martinelli (both knee), Matteo Guendouzi (Achilles), Mesut Ozil (back) and Shkodran Mustafi (knee) are sidelined.

Chelsea
N'Golo Kante (hamstring) has missed the last six games but has returned to training. Billy Gilmour (knee) is ruled out until next season and Mateo Kovacic (leg) has recovered from a minor injury.

Match preview

Chelsea finished ten points and four places above Arsenal in the Premier League and they can demonstrate their superiority at Wembley in the first FA Cup final played behind closed doors.

Expectations for Frank Lampard's first season at Stamford Bridge were fairly modest and rightly so, bearing in mind the club had been unable to sign players in the summer transfer window.

But the Blues finished fourth and remain in the Champions League, even if they are hanging on by their fingertips after a 3-0 first-leg loss at home to Bayern Munich in the last 16.

They have won eight of 11 games since the lockdown with considerable help from forwards Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic, who are playing vital roles.

Giroud's Chelsea career got off to a slow start and he was widely tipped for a transfer during the January window.

But the 33-year-old has netted seven goals in ten games since the break and he is poised to pose a huge threat against his former club.

Giroud has benefited from some excellent service and much of it has come from Pulisic, whose recent performances mark him down as a potential long-term successor to Eden Hazard.

Pulisic has a long way to go to match the brilliant Belgian but he looked a class act during the Premier League run in and is a likely starter in the final, perhaps at the expense of Willian, who has reportedly turned down the offer of a new two-year contract.

Arsenal are one of the clubs widely credited with an interest in Willian and they face a major rebuild irrespective of the outcome at Wembley.

They finished eighth and need to beat Chelsea to seal Europa League qualification or they will have to face up to a lack of European competition for the first time in 25 years.

There have been signs of progress under Arteta, including a greater willingness to defend which underpinned the stunning 2-0 semi-final victory over Manchester City.

But Arsenal followed up that effort with a disappointing 1-0 loss away to Aston Villa and they were far from convincing when winning 3-2 at home to Watford on the final day of the Premier League season.

Watford had nothing to lose after falling 3-0 down but they peppered the Gunners goal, winning the shot count 19 to 13.

In his post-match interview Arteta admitted to not liking what he had watched and the performance may have provided him with more questions than answers.

Arteta experimented with a switch to a back four against the Hornets but seems likely to revert to the three-man defence he has used for much of the season.

Likely midfield starters Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos need to play with plenty of discipline and the onus will be on the front three - probably Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette - to provide match-winning moments.

It was a set-up which worked well against City, who pressed high and left space for the Gunners to exploit.

Chelsea must be wary of falling into the same trap and avoid giving the ball away in dangerous areas.

Lampard likes his team to press and they did it to excellent effect in their semi-final against Manchester United, running out comfortable 3-1 winners.

It was a mature performance against the Red Devils, who had few sights of goal until the contest was effectively over.

A star-studded United attack featuring Marcus Rashford and second-half substitutes Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood were neutralised with relative ease, showing that Lampard's young side are finding a better balance between defence and attack.

Chelsea must cope with another dangerous front three in the final but they look the stronger, more consistent side and are odds-against value to prevail in normal time.

Key stat

Chelsea have scored two or more goals in 11 of their last 14 matches.

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