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FA CUP FINAL
Cardiff City v Portsmouth
2pm, Saturday
Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Click here for live listings

Related links

Teams

• Cardiff City
• Portsmouth

Also see

• Andy Gray
• Tyler's FA Cup facts
• Routes to Wembley

It's the FA Cup final that nobody predicted as Portsmouth and Cardiff go head to head at Wembley Stadium.

We also asked our pundits to name the players you should be keeping an eye on and to tell us whether Championship side Cardiff can produce another surprise and win the FA Cup.

Jeff Stelling

It's the first final for 17 years not to feature one of the Big Four. Is that good or bad for the competition?
Hmmm...I don't know. It's great for the supporters of Portsmouth and Cardiff that they're there, but I'm not sure a lot of football fans wouldn't have enjoyed seeing one of the big clubs there as well. But that's the way it works out, and I'm sure it's going to be a good day as long as some of the players who aren't used to such a big occasion don't freeze. I was at the United-Millwall final in 2004, and on the day some of the Millwall players found the occasion too much.

Who are the key men?
Portsmouth have the players who should be able to cope with the occasion, people like David James - if fit - and Sol Campbell. But the bloke who pulls the strings is Niko Kranjcar - he's a fabulous player, and most of what's good about Pompey going forward goes through him. For Cardiff, I like Joe Ledley and Paul Parry, and then there's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Will he do it on the day?

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
I change my mind every five minutes! On the face of it Portsmouth should be too big and athletic with too much experience, but their form has been so bad and you can't just turn it on and off. I just think Cardiff might win it 1-0.

Charlie Nicholas

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
It's certainly not a bad thing. People like to see an upset every now and then - as long as you're not a fan of the losing team - but this season has been really interesting, especially Liverpool's games against Havant and Barnsley. Kevin Keegan said you need £200million to compete with the Big Four in the Premier League, but Portsmouth and Barnsley have proved that winning the FA Cup is feasible for all clubs. People argue that the Premier League is the best league in the world - but the FA Cup has always been the best cup competition.

Who are the key men?
Cardiff will be looking to their more experienced campaigners and people like Gavin Rae will have a big part to play. He's played for his country, he's played for Rangers and he knows the pressure of big games and if they get a big performance out of him they'll have a real chance of winning. It's a little bit different if you're the favourites, as Portsmouth are, as they'll be looking to the individuals who can do something different. Kanu can do that, so can John Utaka, but the one outstanding individual is Kranjcar and I think he'll be the matchwinner on the day.

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
I think it will start off tense, but it will become fairly open later on and the better technical players will start to enjoy themselves. I could see a 3-2 win to Portsmouth, maybe even going into extra-time.

Phil Thompson

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
You can look at it both ways. People will say it's romantic and it's what the FA Cup is all about, but others will look at it and think it won't have the same impact worldwide. I think you have to accept something like this might happen every 10 years or so and I think we should embrace it. Things like this keep the magic alive for the supporters of teams in the Championship and I think it's fantastic that Cardiff are there.

Who are the key men?
Kranjcar is an exceptional player. He has ability from free-kicks, he has assists in his play and he is somebody who can score wonderful goals, so I'm really hoping that he's on form and he can show that these so-called lesser teams can turn on the style. You've also got to look at Hasselbaink. I think we'll only see an hour from him, but he can be a match-winner when he's up for it. It's a fantastic opportunity to score a great goal in the twilight of his career.

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
It would be nice to think that Cardiff could pull it off, but I think we've had enough shocks this year. If I'm honest, it's got to be a Portsmouth victory and that would be wonderful for Harry Redknapp at this stage of his career.

Paul Merson

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
We'll know at quarter-to-five won't we! Seriously, I'm just pleased that Portsmouth are in it and I think it's good to see a different final. It gets a bit boring to see the same teams in it every year and I think it's brought to FA Cup dream back. Teams like Reading didn't bother with it this year because they thought it was impossible to get to the final, but here we are with Cardiff at Wembley.

Who are the key men?
If Milan Baros plays, he will be very important to Portsmouth because with Jermain Defoe missing I can see them struggling for goals. John Utaka's pace will also be very important and I can see him being too quick for Cardiff. I'd say Peter Whittingham is key to Cardiff, if he plays, because he's got a great left foot. I don't see Hasselbaink running away from Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell, so they'll be relying on good set pieces - and Whittingham's got a great delivery

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
It'll be 1-0 to Portsmouth. Cardiff would be mad to go there and play an end-to-end game, so it will be cagey. They've got to play it safe because not one of their players would get into the Portsmouth team and they'll be up against it.

Chris Kamara

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
It's hard to say if it's a good thing or a bad thing, it's just one of those things that happens in football. I'd be looking forward to a match involving the Big Four as much as I'm looking forward to Portsmouth v Cardiff.

Who are the key men?
For Portsmouth the strikers will be key. The team will play well but the only concern is where the goals will come from. Will Baros break his duck? Will David Nugent come of age? Are Kanu's old legs going to produce one more bit of magic? There's so many key men for Cardiff - if Hasselbaink was in the Pompey side you'd fancy it to be all over because he'd stick their chances away. Parry is the legs alongside him, young Aaron Ramsey has a growing reputation in midfield, Ledley has a fantastic future ahead of him and there's old heads like Stephen McPhail and Trevor Sinclair.

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
I think Portsmouth will win it. Cardiff have had two fantastic games against Middlesbrough and Barnsley to get to the final and I'm sure Dave Jones' side will produce a spectacle, but they've got to get past Campbell and Distin before they even get to David James. Pompey will win if they can convert their chances.

Alan McInally

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
It's the best cup competition in the world, and it's brilliant that you don't have any of the big ones in it. It's not so good for the sponsors, who probably would have wanted a United-Liverpool final, but it just shows that upsets do happen.

Who are the key men?
Kranjcar for Portsmouth, and the goalkeeper Peter Enckelman for Cardiff - he'll need to have a good game!

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
There's no way that Portsmouth have not had one eye on this final for the last few weeks - no matter what Harry says. I cannot believe for a moment that Pompey are not going to win this competition.

Tony Cottee

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
It's a good thing. I must admit I was getting bored with the same old teams winning it. Last year's final was awful, especially coming off the back of the Liverpool-West Ham final the year before. I'm really pleased because I think it just gives hope to all the other teams out there - it just gets boring if the same old teams are winning the same competitions. I just hope it's a good game, so we can all then look back and say how refreshing it was.

Who are the key men?
It would have been Defoe if he was able to play, but I'd probably go for Kanu - on his day he's a real handful and scores crucial goals. For Cardiff, I'd go for Parry if he's fit. I think he's a tremendous player - he's got great pace and he'll give them options going forward.

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
I've a sneaky feeling for Cardiff, I don't know why. I'll go for a 2-1 win.

Tony Gale

Is it good or bad to see a final without the Big Four?
Good. We've seen the best sides in the final and it's always been a disappointment - really cagey stuff, no-one wants to make a mistake and they've been poor finals. I'm looking forward to this - I just hope Portsmouth play a lot better than in the semi-final when, despite all their experience, they just seemed to freeze.

Who are the key men?
For Cardiff, Hasselbaink. I don't think they will get in behind Portsmouth much, what with the pace of Distin and Campbell, so if they're going to score it'll have to be a strike from around the edge of the area, and there's still no better striker of the ball. For Portsmouth, Kranjcar - when he's on form - is capable of making chances out of nothing.

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
It'll be a lot closer than people think, but I think Pompey in the end.

Alan Smith

Is it good to see a final without the Big Four?
I think it's a good thing. These things happen less and less in the modern game, but both Cardiff and Portsmouth deserve it because they've produced when it matters and it makes a change to see different teams there. I'm all for it and I just hope we get a good game out of it.

Who are the key men?
There's no question that Portsmouth have got better players, but they'll miss Defoe and people like Baros and Kanu will need to step in. But I always look at their midfield and if it's functioning through the likes of Diarra, Muntari and Diop it will be to their advantage. I think Ledley is important to Cardiff because he's a great prospect and scored the goal in the semi-final. But they'll all be pumped up for it and it will be interesting to see whether certain players do freeze. Hopefully not.

Put your neck on the block - who will win?
I think Portsmouth will dominate the possession and with their extra class I think they're going to win 2-0.