It’s another big betting weekend for football fans across the UK with the Fourth Round of fixtures in the FA Cup taking place from Friday through to Sunday. The 16 games pit 32 teams against each other, with all teams knowing that just three more wins would earn them a spot in the semi-finals and a chance to play at Wembley.
Of course, there are a huge number of poker players that also follow football avidly and many are not averse to a bet or two on the games either, so with that in mind, we are going to take a look at some of the best possible bets available for this weekend’s games from a wide range of different markets with our preferred choice of sports betting bookmaker, Coral.
Let’s begin though by taking a look at the fixtures from Friday through to Sunday and the odds shown for the Match Result market. The odds shown are the best available odds via the Oddschecker betting service.
FA Cup Fourth Round Fixtures – Kick Off 3pm unless stated
- Friday 26th January
Sheffield Wednesday (5/4) v Reading (34/13) (Draw – 27/11) – 7.45pm
Yeovil Town (19/1) v Manchester United (3/16) (Draw – 7/1) – 7.55pm
- Saturday 27th January
Peterborough Utd (53/10) v Leicester City (5/8) (Draw – 16/5) – 12.30pm
Huddersfield Town (4/6) v Birmingham City (26/5) (Draw – 29/10)
Hull City (16/11) v Nottingham Forest (20/9) (Draw – 28/11)
MK Dons (15/13) v Coventry City (54/19) (Draw – 5/2)
Middlesbrough (11/8) v Brighton (22/9) (Draw – 23/10)
Millwall (3/4) v Rochdale (51/10) (Draw – 3/1)
Notts County (7/2) v Swansea City (19/20) (Draw – 13/5)
Sheffield Utd (13/10) v Preston North End (27/10) (Draw – 12/5)
Southampton (Evens) v Watford (7/2) (Draw – 51/19)
Wigan Athletic (11/5) v West Ham United (7/5) (Draw – 5/2)
Newport County (19/1) v Tottenham Hotspur (3/16) (Draw 36/5) – 5.30pm
Liverpool (4/13) v West Brom (11/1) (Draw – 27/5) – 7.45pm
- Sunday 28th January
Chelsea (2/5) v Newcastle United (9/1) (Draw – 43/10) – 1.30pm
Cardiff City (10/1) v Manchester City (1/3) (Draw – 11/2) – 4pm
Our top bets for the FA Cup Fourth Round
Yeovil Town v Manchester United (7.55 pm – Live on BBC TV – Friday 26th January)
There’s no doubt that Manchester United are going to win this game in my view and the fact that they have signed Alexis Sanchez and he is not cup-tied means that they will be even stronger. I think Sanchez will not likely start the game but may be introduced from the bench at some point.
My choice of bet here is for Marcus Rashford to score two or more goals in the game which is a 13/5 shot with Coral. I can see Lukaku being rested for this game and I think Sanchez will start from the bench which should give Rashford a chance to play his preferred central role up front. Against a Yeovil Town defence that lacks pace and leaks goals, I think he is well capable of scoring a couple.
Liverpool v West Brom (7.45pm – Live on BT Sport – Saturday 27th January)
West Brom come into this game in their best form of the season and having already picked up a point in the league from their trip to Anfield back in November. Liverpool on the other hand were defeated 1-0 by Swansea on Monday and memories of last year’s collapse in January and February will certainly be fresh in their minds.
However, I think this year, Liverpool will learn from that experience and I think with a home crowd roaring them on, I expect them to grab a win here, but not without West Brom putting up a fight. I can see both teams scoring but I think Liverpool will just about pinch the win and as such my choice of bet here is Liverpool to win and both teams to score which is 2/1 with Coral.
Cardiff City v Manchester City (4pm – Live on BBC – Sunday 28th January)
Manchester City are the big favourites to win the FA Cup as their outstanding season continues here and Cardiff City, though going well in the Championship are massive underdogs against a City side that have swept almost all before them this season.
City have scored plenty of goals away from home and I think they’ll continue that here against a Cardiff side that do score goals, but also ship a few from time to time. I think Man City to win and Over 3.5 goals at 7/4 with Coral is the outstanding bet here.
The FA Cup 2018 – The Outright Winner
We couldn’t finish without giving you a look at arguably the most popular market for the FA Cup and that is the outright winner of the tournament. Arsenal, who won three of the last four tournaments, are now out meaning a new name will be engraved on the trophy this year. Coral currently are offering the following odds on the remaining 32 teams competing:
- Manchester City – 3/1 Favourites
- Manchester United – 4/1
- Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs – 11/2
- Leicester City – 20/1
- Southampton – 25/1
- West Ham & Watford – 40/1
- Swansea City & Newcastle Utd – 50/1
- West Brom, Brighton, Huddersfield Town – 66/1
- Middlesbrough & Sheffield Wednesday – 80/1
- Sheffield United – 100/1
- Hull City – 125/1
- Reading, Preston, Millwall, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City – 150/1
- Cardiff City – 200/1
- Wigan Athletic – 250/1
- Peterborough, Rochdale, MK Dons – 400/1
- Coventry City – 500/1
- Notts County – 750/1
- Newport County & Yeovil Town – 1,500/1
In truth, given the strength of the teams remaining in the competition I cannot see any team from outside the top five teams listed standing any real chance of winning the tournament. You could make a case for Leicester or perhaps Southampton or West Ham doing well, but in truth, I think they would be best as each way bets as a surprise finalist.
Tottenham are certainly due cup success and I think playing all their home matches at Wembley this season will prove to be an advantage here. Provided they get a decent draw, which is always key to FA Cup success, I think Mauricio Pochettino’s men are a strong bet at 11/2 to lift the trophy for the first time since 1991.