Wembley Beckons For Each of the Eight FA Cup Quarterfinalists

This weekend it is a mix of games as we have just five Premier League games taking place this weekend, three on Saturday at 3pm and two on Sunday including the chance for Liverpool to go back to the top of the table if they can earn a victory over 19^th placed Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Alongside those games however is four crucial FA Cup quarterfinal ties with the two Manchester clubs the bookies clear favourites to win the trophy outright in May. How will City and United as well as the other six clubs battling it out for a place in the semifinals at Wembley in April fare over the weekend?

If you fancy a flutter on the FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend then head on over to bet365. There’s In Play betting on each game, while a live streaming service is available for those that qualify by making a bet or having cash in their account and being based in a country where they can view the streams. Sign up today with the current bet365 New Customer Promotion and you could also benefit from up to £100 in bet credits too.

In this article, we are going to take a closer look at each of the four FA Cup quarterfinals and give you our tips on how we see each game going.

FA Cup Quarterfinals

Saturday 16^th March

Watford v Crystal Palace (12.15pm)

The Road to the Quarterfinals

Watford

• Round 3 – (A) v Woking – W 2-0 (Hughes, Deeney)
• Round 4 – (A) v Newcastle Utd – W 2-0 (Gray, Success)
• Round 5 – (A) v QPR – W 1-0 (Capoue)

Crystal Palace

• Round 3 – (H) v Grimsby Town – W 1-0 (Ayew)
• Round 4 – (H) v Tottenham – W 2-0 (Wickham, Townsend)
• Round 5 – (A) v Doncaster Rovers – W 2-0 (Schlupp, Meyer)

The first of two all-Premier League clashes starts the weekend off at Vicarage Road with Watford, who are just about the form team of the two over the course of the season, take on a Palace side who have slowly improved under Roy Hodgson over the past couple of years.

Watford have generally been more consistent in the league whereas Palace I think are the team with the more flamboyant individuals who can win a game with one moment of brilliance. I also feel that while Watford have the advantage of being at home, Palace’s positive record in the FA Cup means that they will also approach this game with confidence.

I can’t see this game being decided easily in favour of either side and in truth, I think it may well require extra time or even penalties to see which team earns their spot in the Wembley semis. With that in mind I am backing the draw at 90 minutes here which is an 11/5 shot with bet365.

Swansea City v Manchester City (5.20pm)

The Road to the Quarterfinals

Swansea City

• Round 3 – (A) v Aston Villa – W 3-0 (Baker-Richardson, Dyer, Fulton)
• Round 4 – (H) v Gillingham – W 4-1 (McBurnie 2, Celina, McKay)
• Round 5 – (H) v Brentford – W 4-1 (OG, James, Celina, Byers)

Manchester City

• Round 3 – (H) v Rotherham United – W 7-0 (Sterling, Foden, OG, Jesus, Mahrez, Otamendi, Sane)
• Round 4 – (H) v Burnley – W 5-0 (Jesus, Silva.B, De Bruyne, OG, Aguero)
• Round 5 – (A) v Newport County – W 4-1 (Sane, Foden 2, Mahrez)

Given the incredible form that Manchester City have been in of late, is there any way that Swansea City could upset the form book and land what would be one of the biggest FA Cup shocks in modern times on Saturday?

In short, no I don’t think there is as even if City were to rest some key men for this game, their squad is so packed with talent that they’ll easily be able to cope. They are playing with such verve and confidence at the moment that it doesn’t look likely that even the top teams in Europe would be likely to stop them, let alone a mid-table Championship side.

Swansea have done well to get this far in the competition but I think their participation will end on Saturday and likely by a fair few goals. Mind you, we said that last year when City lined up against Wigan and the unthinkable happened, but I would be hugely surprised if they failed to win this game. Back City at 1/7 for the win.

Wolves v Manchester United (7.55pm)

The Road to the Quarterfinals

Wolves

• Round 3 – (H) v Liverpool – W 2-1 – (Jiminez, Neves)
• Round 4 – (A) v Shrewsbury Town – D 2-2 (Jiminez, Doherty)
• Round 4 Replay – (H) v Shrewsbury Town – W 3-2 (Doherty 2, Cavaleiro)
• Round 5 – (A) v Bristol City – W 1-0 (Cavaleiro)

Manchester United

• Round 3 – (H) v Reading – W 2-0 (Mata, Lukaku)
• Round 4 – (A) v Arsenal – W 3-1 (Sanchez, Lingard, Martial)
• Round 5 – (A) v Chelsea – W 2-0 (Herrera, Pogba)

I think this game has the potential to be the most dramatic and exciting of the four FA Cup quarterfinals being played this weekend as seventh meets fifth based on their Premier League placings. Wolves have proved to be a match for any of the top six this season and they could well be very tough opponents for United here.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men lost their first Premier League game under the Norwegian at Arsenal at the weekend and they won’t want to end the week out of the FA Cup too. However, with a lengthy injury list, there is every chance United will have to have some younger squad members on the bench again for this game.

United can welcome back Anthony Martial however and his return may be the perfect tonic for a team that were below par at Arsenal last week and who need to bounce back. I think Wolves will make it tough though and I think this one may well go to extra time and even penalties to decide the winner. Hence I am backing the draw at 23/10 with bet365 at Molineux.

Sunday 17^th March

Millwall v Brighton (2pm)

The Road to the Quarterfinals

Millwall

• Round 3 – (H) v Hull City – W 2-1 (Ferguson 2)
• Round 4 – (H) v Everton – W 3-2 (Gregory, Cooper, Wallace)
• Round 5 – (A) v AFC Wimbledon – W 1-0 (Wallace)

Brighton

• Round 3 – (A) v Bournemouth – W 3-1 (Knockaert, Bissouma, Andone)
• Round 4 – (H) v West Brom – D 0-0
• Round 4 Replay – (A) v West Brom – W 3-1 (Andone, Murray 2)
• Round 5 – (H) v Derby County – W 2-1 (Knockaert, Locadia)

Both these sides have had similar seasons, albeit in different divisions of the league and for me, while Millwall have done very well to reach this far and have already seen off Premier League opposition in Everton, I feel they may well have met their match in Brighton.

Chris Hughton’s men know from their time in the Championship what it takes to win these types of games and I think it is no coincidence that the Seagulls have come through games with WBA and Derby to reach this stage. I feel Millwall is a similar game but one that the visitors should be looking to win.

Much depends on the team Hughton picks, but if he, as I suspect he will, picks the strongest possible team, then I am confident backing Brighton to win at 11/10 is the sensible bet here.