Past finals indicate Man City will scrape past Wigan at Wembley

Manchester City are gunning for a second FA Cup title within the last three years when meeting Wigan at Wembley, and are heavily favoured at 4/11 to achieve it in 90 minutes.

And although they may appeal to big-stake punters at that price in match betting markets, correct score markets look the way to go to turn profit on a Citizens win.

Any fan of the Etihad Stadium outfit will testify their side’s tendency to put their supporters through the mill, and a narrow, nerve-jangling success looks likeliest at the national stadium.

It is 11/2 that Roberto Mancini’s men prevail via a 1-0 scoreline, as they have already done in a league tie opposite the Latics this term, and an emanating trend from recent FA Cup finals further strengthen the chances of this bet.

Indeed, dating back to 2008, each of the two finals featuring clubs in the top half of the Premier League against sides below the top 10, or in the Championship, have ended 1-0 in favour of the higher-placed outfit.

And with relegation eventually being confirmed for Portsmouth in the aftermath of their 2010 final defeat at the hands of Chelsea, City could deliver an ominous message to drop-threatened Wigan in their first ever FA Cup final.

An added incentive to back a 1-0 Citizens success comes from an immensely generous Ladbrokes promotion meanwhile, in which losing correct score bets will be refunded as a free bet should Mancini’s charges lift the trophy.

Losing first scorer and scorecast stakes will be refunded by the same means too, and so Carlos Tevez may be a profitable Sky Blues player to follow in this match.

The Argentinian hotshot has five tournament goals to his name this term, and is 4/1 to break the deadlock as he did in his last outing opposing the Latics.

That match finished 1-0, and repetition of that outcome is an 18/1 scorecast shot, a particularly appealing prospect in light of the safety net provided by Ladbrokes’ promotional refund offer.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.