The FA Cup returns with a bang and there’s some exciting fixtures to look forward to, with six Premier League teams facing off against each other, so we’ve put together a preview of our top games as well as our usual betting tips for you to enjoy.
Dave’s FA Cup Betting Tips
Arsenal/Man City/Bournemouth/Sheff Wed – Acca – 1pt Win @ 11.05/1,
Hull City/Watford/Blackburn/Reading/West Brom – Acca – 1pt Win @ 40.69/1,
Crystal Palace v Stoke/Partick v Dundee Utd – Draws Double – 1pt Win @ 10.05/1,
Dundee/Rangers/Millwall/Vitesse/Barcelona – Acca – 1pt Win @ 7.4/1,
Jordan Rhodes 1st Goalscorer (Blackburn) – 1pts Win @ 5/1.
Liverpool v West Ham
Liverpool take on West Ham at Anfield on Saturday evening in what is probably the biggest all-Premier League tie in the FA Cup Fourth Round. Liverpool will be looking to avoid a third defeat of the season to the Hammers, who have proved a tough nut to crack for both Brendan Rodgers and now Jurgen Klopp.
Slaven Bilic has welcomed the return of Dimitri Payet to his side recently, whilst Liverpool are likely to still be without Martin Skrtel, Phillipe Coutinho, Danny Ings and Daniel Sturridge.
Confidence will be high for the home side who progressed to the League Cup Final with a penalty shootout win against Stoke in midweek, following a last minute winner away at Norwich in the league the weekend before, whereas West Ham were left ruing missed chances last week as they twice led against Manchester City but had to settle for a draw.
Roberto Firmino is the man in form and he will be tough to keep a lid on for the Hammers this weekend, we can see the game being a close affair with goals for both sides, we would predict 2-1 Liverpool.
Aston Villa v Manchester City
Chances are Manchester City’s Manager Manuel Pellegrini will rest some of his key players when they travel to Villa Park, however with the amount of strength in depth they have that shouldn’t affect them too much.
Aston Villa’s form has recently improved and they are unbeaten in all competitions in five matches, the best result of which was a stubborn 1-1 draw with Leicester City, however this is a different ball game against a rampant City side with an in form Sergio Aguero.
With Villa’s concentration bound to be more on Premier League survival, a cup run is a distraction they can ill afford, we can’t see anything other than a Man City victory.
Crystal Palace v Stoke City
The final all Premier League tie on the list is at Selhurst Park where Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace take on Mark Hughes’ Stoke City. The Potters have already shown in their performances in the League cup that they will take Cup ties very seriously, whilst Palace will be looking to improve on their recent dip in form.
We’ve a suspicion that a couple of Stoke stars from their midweek defeat at Liverpool will be rested, for that reason I feel the tie may be set a matched more evenly. We feel Stoke will travel with a solid defence and a counter attacking style, which is similar to tactics which Crystal Palace have recently adopted, meaning they may well cancel each other out and we feel this is as close to a draw banker as you can get.