This weekend sees the big boys of the Premiership and the Championship enter the FA Cup competition with teams from the lower leagues hoping to cause a few upsets.
Who can forget the giant killing exploits in years gone by as teams such as Sutton United, Wrexham, Leyton Orient and Shrewsbury Town all triumphed over Premiership opposition. Only two years ago Nigel Clough’s Burton Albion held Manchester United to a draw before being overwhelmed in the replay.
This year we are again likely to see a few upsets as this is the beauty of the FA Cup, but where are they going to come from?
An intriguing tie is the West London derby between Chelsea and QPR. Could QPR really upset the odds and knock out the holders? If you fancy a bet on this happening then you can get odds of 16-1*. Chelsea are 1/6* to win and a draw is best priced at 6-1*.
League One side Bristol Rovers travel to Fulham in what could be a potential upset. The West Country side are priced at 8-1* to cause a shock and defeat the Londoners. Fulham are clear favourites to win at 2/5* with a draw perhaps being the best Bristol Rovers can hope for, priced at 7/2*.
Another match which pits David against Goliath is the clash between Liverpool and Luton. Remember the last time these two sides met in the FA Cup? Luton were 3-1 up but eventually went down 4-3 to the Reds. For Luton to reverse that result you will get a best price of 11-1*, with the Reds priced at 3/10*. It is 9/2* for a draw.
The tie of the round is the all-Premiership clash between Aston Villa and Manchester United. If you feel like a flutter on Villa to defeat United you will get a best price of 7/2*. This might be wise money spent what with Alex Ferguson arguing with the United fans. However, United are clear favourites at 22/23* with a draw priced at 88/35*.
Another all-Premiership tie is the clash between West Ham and Manchester City. Bookmakers feel this will be a tight game with West Ham slight favourites at 52/35* to win, whereas Manchester City are 21/10* to emerge victorious. You will get odds of 9/4* if you fancy a draw.
Now might be the right time to have a flutter on the team you think will win the whole competition as the odds on the top teams are more than likely to go down. Holders Chelsea are favourites at 9/2* with Boylesports. Manchester United are 5-1* with Skybet as are Arsenal with totesport. Ladbrokes are offering 6-1* on Liverpool regaining the cup and Spurs are an outside bet at 16-1* with Skybet.
