The FA Cup: All You Need To Know

From 124 teams down to the last four; Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Crystal Palace find themselves battling it out to win the world’s oldest club competition and English Football’s most prestigious cup.

Ahead of this weekend’s semi-final fixtures, here’s all you need to know about the FA Cup, including when it will be taking place, past winners and the latest odds.

Check out all the latest football betting odds at William Hill

What teams have won the FA Cup?

Since first being held in 1872, the FA Cup has been won by 44 different clubs over the years, with Wanderers, a team of former public schoolboys based in London, winning the inaugural tournament. Leicester won the competition for the first-time last season, but they will not be at Wembley for this season’s final.

Chelsea have already won the trophy an impressive eight times and they will have the chance to progress to the finals for the 15th time this weekend. Liverpool will have the opportunity to equal Chelsea should they win, currently having won it seven times in 14 finals, but both teams have some ground to make up on Arsenal, who have a record 14 FA Cup victories.

Which manager has won the FA Cup the most?

A number of great managers have got their hands on the FA Cup over the years but it’s Arsene Wenger the most decorated of the lot, with seven wins to his name. Scotland’s George Ramsay holds the second most wins with six, claiming all of them while in charge of Aston Villa.

In the last 13 years of the competition, it has been largely dominated by three teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City, with the 2016 Final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace the only one not involving one of the three.

Check out all the latest betting offers at William Hill

A cup for the underdogs?

You often hear the phrase, ‘Magic of the FA Cup’ being thrown about, referring to how the competition frequently brings up surprising results, with lower placed teams beating higher placed ones, in fact the Cup has been won by teams from outside the top division 10 times. The 2012-13 was a particularly notable underdog story, where Wigan Athletic managed to beat Man City 1-0 in the final. They went on to become the first team ever to win the FA Cup and get relegated in the same season.

What does the winner of the FA Cup get?

As well as being able to lift the FA Cup trophy, the winner of the competition also earns a place in the Europa League for the following season, bypassing the qualifying matches and starting off in the group stage. If the winning club has a place in the Champions League for the following season, which will be likely for Liverpool, Chelsea, and City, then they will keep that instead.

When and where is the FA Cup final?

As for the FA Cup Final, the teams will meet on May 14 at Wembley Stadium in London. The kick-off time will be announced in due course.

FA Cup final betting odds

Following their 4-1 quarter-final dismissal of Southampton, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side head into the penultimate round as slight favourites at 6/4 to lift the trophy, whilst Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool sit at 15/8. Chelsea are judged to be the most likely to qualify for the final and are 1/4 to do so. This reflects Thomas Tuchel’s impressive semi-final record at Chelsea having won all nine they’ve participated in. Since joining Chelsea, Tuchel has already won the Club World Cup, Champions League and UEFA Supercup, and will be looking to add to his ever-growing trophy cabinet.

In the first of the semi-finals, City, who have won 18 of their last 20 FA cup matches, are slight favourites in what is sure to be a tightly contested affair. They are priced at 5/4 to win the game in 90 minutes while Liverpool are 21/10 to take the game in normal time. City and Liverpool have already drawn twice this season, both 2-2 indicating the semi final could be a close affair and head into extra-time, where Man City are 10/1 to claim victory, with Liverpool 11/1 to do the same. Both clubs, meanwhile, are 11/1 to secure glory via a penalty shootout.

The following day, Chelsea meet Crystal Palace in a game which is seen to be slightly more clear-cut. Last year’s runners up in Chelsea will be looking to go one-better after they slumped to a disappointing defeat in last year’s final. Tuchel’s men are 4/7 to take the win within 90 minutes, while Palace are 24/5 to cause what most would be deemed a bit of a shock.

In the middle of a stellar run of form, Kai Havertz looks a likely scorer again at 6/5. Mson Mount and Timo Werner both managed to put two past Southampton in Chelsea’s last Premier League fixture; if you fancy them to repeat this against Palace you can find odds of 11/1 and 12/1 respectively. Wilfred Zaha is Crystal Palace’s best shot at a goal, with odds of 9/4 to score anytime.

Would you like to work out your potential winnings? Try our online betting calculator