The quarterfinals of the Portsmouth and Cardiff City meet in the final of the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday. It is the first time since 1991 that the final will not have Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. “We want to make our own history,” said Cardiff manager Dave Jones. “Maybe, over the last few years, the FA Cup has lost that little bit of magic because it has been the same teams. Portsmouth and ourselves have broken the mould this season and I don’t think that will happen again for a long, long time.” Cardiff is making their first appearance in the final since 1927. Portsmouth has not won the final since 1939.

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“It’s great for everyone at the club,” Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said, “I look at where we were two years ago (almost relegated from the Premier League), or five years ago when we were near the bottom of the Championship and now we are in the Cup final.”

Neither team has played very well lately in the league although Portsmouth has the most experience. Here are some more notes about Saturday’s match. Saturday’s final is the 127th overall. Portsmouth and Cardiff have never played each other in the FA Cup before. It is Portsmouth’s fourth appearance in the final while it is Cardiff’s third.

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Two huge upsets highlighted quarterfinal action in the Soccer Betting FA Cup over the weekend as Barnsley knocked out Chelsea 1-0 as Kayode Odejayi scored the only goal and Portsmouth won 1-0 at Manchester United. The other two quarterfinals had Cardiff defeating Middlesbrough 2-0 and West Brom taking out Bristol 5-1

Although Barnsley was at home against Chelsea most people believe it was one of the greatest upsets ever. “I can’t believe it. We went to Anfield and we put on a show and came away with a result and everybody thought we couldn’t do it again,” said Barnsley manager Simon Davey. “We had a game plan that obviously worked. I’m speechless at the moment. I can’t believe we’ve really done it. We’re in the semifinal of the cup, I’ve never been to Wembley.”

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Looking at the two teams it is hard to see how Chelsea lost the match but they didn’t play with much energy. “I’m very, very disappointed but all the credit to Barnsley,” said Chelsea manager Avram Grant. “They showed a lot of spirit. They won against Liverpool, they won against us so I congratulate them. I’m very sad about this.

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Manchester United will look to move into the semifinals of the FA Cup as they host Portsmouth on Saturday in quarterfinal action. United is looking to win three trophies this season as they are in the Champions League quarterfinals, second in the Soccer Betting Premier League and in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. “People ask which trophy we want, but we want them all,” United midfielder Darren Fletcher said. “Our goal is to win all three and we’re not picking one out as more important. We have to win every match, and with our squad it’s a reality that we can win all three. I’m not saying it’s going to happen. It’s clearly tough to do. But we’ve definitely got the squad to rotate and challenge on all fronts.”

United is just a point behind Arsenal in the Premier League and now looks to the FA Cup on Saturday. Manager Alex Ferguson has a talented squad and it is tough to predict whether Christiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney will play on Saturday. Even if they don’t, Ferguson can use Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha. The talent on United is excellent and Portsmouth faces a huge challenge on Saturday. “I’d be a liar if I said it was the draw I wanted,” Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said. “I’ve got a team here that I feel can go anywhere and pick up a result.” United is a big favorite to win Saturday’s game laying 3-1 on the three-way soccer line.

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Chelsea is at Barnsley in Saturday’s other FA Cup quarterfinal. Last season Chelsea won the FA Cup, beating Manchester United in the Final.

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Champions League Round of 16 action gets underway on Tuesday as Liverpool hosts Inter Milan. It is a tough turnaround for Liverpool as they are coming off a shocking loss to lower-league club Barnsley in the FA Cup. Although Liverpool is at home they face the best team in the Italian League in the first leg on Tuesday. Inter Milan will present a severe test for a Liverpool team that is now playing to save their season and probably the job of manager Rafa Benitez.

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It was expected that Liverpool would make a run at the Premier League title this season but they are already out of contention sitting 19 points back of Arsenal. Liverpool has won nothing this season and now may not even qualify for the Champions League next season. Benitez is under fire after the shocking loss to Barnsley. He rested Pepe Reina, Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano. Liverpool is owned by American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. who are not happy with the job Benitez has done. The Champions League is the last chance for Liverpool to save the season.

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Werder Bremen, PSV Eindhoven and Everton won first leg matches on Wednesday in the round of 32 stage of the 2008 UEFA Cup. PSV beat Helsingborg 2-0, Werder Bremen defeated Braga 3-0, and Everton won 2-0 at SK Brann.

Other UEFA first leg results had Galatasaray playing to a 0-0 draw in Istanbul, Marseille beat Spartak Moscow 3-0 and Anderlecht defeated visiting Bordeaux 2-1. PSV was playing their first match of the UEFA Cup after having been eliminated in the Soccer Betting European Champions League along with seven other teams. Timmy Simons got the opener to put PSV ahead early. PSV goalkeeper Gomes stopped Razak Omotoyossi twice. He also stopped Martin Kolar. Lazovic made it 2-0 as he hit a shot from about 12 yards out into the top right corner.

Werder Bremen got excellent goalkeeping from Tim Wiese who stopped two first half penalty shots. Werder took the lead on a 20-yard free kick by Naldo. Daniel Jensen made it 2-0 in the 27th minute. Wiese was brilliant and saved the day for Bremen. Hugo Almeida completed the scoring for Bremen with a goal in injury time.

Liverpool head coach Rafa Benitez can breathe a little easier now as Liverpool crushed Luton 5-0 to advance to the 4th round of the FA Cup. Liverpool team captain Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick with 3 amazing goals. Liverpool players Ryan Babel and Sami Hyypia also scored a goal each to the delight of the Liverpool fans gathered at Anfield, the home pitch of Liverpool.

Liverpool’s next football match will be against Aston Villa. Aston Villa will be visitors to Liverpool on their home pitch at Anfield.

Read more on English FA Cup Betting: Liverpool Crush Luton 5-0

Just when the third round FA Cup football match between English Premier League champions Manchester United and Aston Villa was heading to a draw, Manchester United’s top guns Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney created a spark to score two goals in the last 9 minutes to eliminate Aston Villa from the FA Cup race.

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney came off the bench as a substitute, and with a whole bundle of energy ready to explode, Wayne Rooney initiated the move that ended with Cristiano Ronaldo sliding home a cross from Ryan Giggs into the Aston Villa net. Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney then fired home from the edge of the area after Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot had been blocked by an Aston Villa defender to make the final score 2-0 in favor of Manchester United.

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