FA Cup Final: Mancini must decide on Dzeko or Aguero

"Dzeko was an unused sub in the semi-final against Chelsea after starting many of the earlier rounds but has certainly staked his claim with that goal."

After both final contestants played in midweek, Christian Crowther assesses the squads ahead of their Wembley showdown...

It's fair to say that Wigan's Wembley audition at home to Swansea in the Premier League did not go according to plan on Tuesday night.

Roberto Martinez was left to bemoan his side's calamitous defending in the 3-2 defeat at the DW Stadium which leaves the Latics three points adrift with only two games left to play.

Unsurprisingly, that damaging defeat sees Wigan rated 1.331/3 favourites to finally drop through the Premier League trapdoor.

Gary Caldwell's recall after injury was supposed to shore things up at the back but the experienced Scotsman was responsible for a woefully loose clearance which gifted Swansea their second equaliser.

Wigan's misery was further compounded by a suspected leg-break for substitute right-back Ronnie Stam who lasted under a minute after replacing Emmerson Boyce in the closing stages.

All these defensive injuries do not bode well for the FA Cup final on Saturday, for which Wigan are understandably priced as big 9.617/2 outsiders to win inside 90 minutes.

However, the Latics can take great heart from their display at the Etihad recently where they finally succumbed 1-0 after playing the better football for the majority of the contest.

With relegation now technically out of their hands, the underdogs can throw the shackles off for the full 90 minutes and give it their best shot.

There were no such troubles for their Wembley opponents Man City as they pulled through by that same 1-0 scoreline against West Brom to ensure they will definitely be competing in the Champions League next season.

Interestingly, in the light of Sir Alex Ferguson's impending retirement, Man City's have shortened to slight favourites at 3.02/1 to claim the title back in 2013/14.

Meanwhile, Edin Dzeko, the scorer of City's winner against the Baggies has given Roberto Mancini a headache over who to select up top come Saturday.

Dzeko was an unused sub in the semi-final against Chelsea after starting many of the earlier rounds but has certainly staked his claim with that goal.

It looks to be a straight choice between the Bosnian and Sergio Aguero, who scored the decider in the semi against Chelsea and, perhaps tellingly, got a full rest last night.

After sticking with second choice stopper Costel Pantilimon throughout this year's competition, Mancini has confirmed his intention to stick with the Romanian.

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Michael Vaughan: Four key battles will decide England v South Africa

England Cricket / Michael Vaughan / 12 April 2012 / 1 Comments

Anderson, Swann and Pietersen are central to England's chances against South Africa

"South Africa will present England with a whole new set of challenges and the Test series could well come down to who comes out on top from a few mini-battles."

With the winter calendar completed, Michael Vaughan looks ahead to the main event of the summer as England take on South Africa. There are a number of intriguing battles that will decide the series, according to Betfair's cricket ambassador...

England have found life a lot more comfortable on home soil than they have away tours in recent times. That's not surprising in international cricket, where knowledge and experience of conditions is paramount to achieving success.

But South Africa will present England with a whole new set of challenges and the Test series could well come down to who comes out on top from a few mini-battles.

Strauss v Smith -The conductor or the motivator?

You'll rarely find two more contrasting personalities in cricket than Graeme Smith and Andrew Strauss. Or styles of captaincy. Strauss is the understated type, the cool head, the quiet man of international cricket captaincy. Smith is all pats on the back, clapping of the hands, vocal involvement in the game. Their records are both extremely good and I wouldn't say one is better than the other.

Pietersen v Kallis - The showman and the rock

Batsmen have come and gone for these two sides but for the best part of a decade Kevin Pietersen and Jacques Kallis have remained the prize scalps for their respective teams. If KP is all flamboyance and entertainment with his unorthodox shots and lightning quick strike rates, Kallis is almost your old-school Test number three. Solid technique, patience, gradual accumulation of runs and very hard to dislodge. Again, I'd find it very hard to pick one over the other.

Swann v Tahir - Off-spinner trumps leg spinner

South African Test cricket has been crying out for wicket-taking spinner for ages and in Imran Tahir they've got one. But the leg-spinner hasn't had experience of international cricket for that long and, for my money, he bowls a few too many bad balls. It's not the four runs that's the problem, it's the relieving of the pressure on the batsmen and the fact it means the two guys at the crease can rotate the strike - essential in cricket in any format.

Graeme Swann was back to something like his best in the second Test in Sri Lanka and remains an incredibly consistent performer. Tahir is no stranger to English conditions, he's had several spells at numerous English counties, but Swann should win this particular battle.

Anderson v Steyn - The swinger and the speedster

We're probably talking about the two best fast bowlers in the world here so there's unlikely to be much in it. I don't think anyone in the game is more deadly when the ball is swinging than James Anderson, who can of course make it bend both ways. Time and time again we've seen the Lancashire man single-handedly demolish batting line-ups for few runs when it's doing something.

But raw pace is a priceless commodity and few can live with Dale Steyn when he's in full flow. Like Anderson, he's an incredible athlete who will bowl all day for you and has that little bit of channelled aggression that all the great 'quicks' have boasted. This may be the key battle of the lot but the only certainty is no batsmen will be looking forward to facing either of them this summer.

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The betting markets for this series are not live yet but there is plenty of cricket to bet on right now.

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