Having had 15 points deducted before the campaign started and with a managerial change mid season, Leeds have done exceptionally well to make the play-offs. Gary McAllister's men have been in good form at the end of the season winning three successive games. Carlisle finished four points better off than their play-off opponents and came ever so close to grabbing an automatic promotion position to the Championship. Whilst Leeds' Jermaine Beckford could be the main threat for Leeds, Carlisle's success has been built on a solid defence particularly goalkeeper Keiren Westwood and defender Danny Livesey.

This season the FA Cup has thrown up drama, excitement and numerous cup shocks. As a result the winner of the showpiece Wembley final will be the first side from outside the "Big Four" to win the trophy since Everton in 1995. Portsmouth go into the match as favourites, having had another fine season in the Premier League despite tailing off in the final weeks of the season. Harry Redknapp's side is built on a rock-solid defence with James, Campbell and Distin particularly impressive, as was illustrated by their 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals. Pompey also have class in midfield thanks to Sulley Muntari, Lassana Diarra and Niko Kranjcar so Redknapp will be hopeful of bagging his first major trophy in management. Cardiff themselves have a canny manager in Dave Jones and they won't be coming to Wembley just to make up the numbers. In Joe Ledley, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and perhaps Robbie Fowler they should pose an attacking threat as they look to repeat their FA Cup triumph of 1927.

In a season where English clubs have dominated the Champions League, it is fitting that the two best teams in England will compete for the biggest prize in Europe in this Moscow final. Chelsea finally saw off Liverpool in the semi-finals after losing twice in three years at the same stage in previous years. Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard were the match winners in the second leg as Avram Grant finally moved out from the shadow of Jose Mourinho. Manchester United disposed of Barcelona in their semi-final, the key to the success was a rock-solid back line and a brilliant goal from Paul Scholes which was the difference over two games. This final could be dire like the FA Cup final between these two teams last season but with the players on show could also well be a classic. There will be a number of intriguing individual battles, much will depend on if Chelsea can keep PFA Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, whilst United will be aiming to stop Michael Ballack who in recent games has been a driving force for the Blues.