FA Cup betting tips: Jack Grealish and Diogo Jota to score; Man Utd to stun Gunners
The Premier League makes way for the magic of the FA Cup this weekend, with the pick of the ties seeing Manchester United face Arsenal in the capital.
The Bookie Basher loves a bit of cup action and fancies Jack Grealish’s calves as much as he does his scoring chances while also tipping Diogo Jota to lash one in for Liverpool.
He also thinks Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils will build on their impressive display at Anfield against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who might be a bit leggy after a midweek mauling by Eddie Howe’s Magpies.
Pasta master
Before we kick off proceedings this week, I have to go on record and declare that my dog woke me up at 5am this morning to make me eat a massive portion of spicy sausage pasta.
Obviously, one cannot let an FA Cup third-round preview pass by without referencing the greatest goal in FA Cup history. Namely Ronnie Radford’s sh*t pinger for Hereford against Newcastle.
If ever a goal – which transformed a crowd that included loads of kids in Parka jackets into a veritable bedlam – captured the magic of the FA Cup, that was it.
Let’s get down to business shall we…
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Aston Villa vs West Ham United
This is the first FA Cup meeting between Villa and the Hammers since way back in March 1980, when the Londoners won a quarter-final tie 1-0 en route to winning the trophy.
You can get 40/1 – or bigger with a couple of snide firms – for West Ham winning the Cup this year, but that reeks of mug punt given their horrific recent form.
They’ve been walloped 5-0 and 4-1 in their last two Premier League games, and even a Villa side who are not at full strength in terms of personnel should have too much for them here.
Suggested bet: Aston Villa to win & Over 2.5 goals at 7/5 (Betfred)
Liverpool vs Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley … who are they?
Saturday’s televised FA Cup third-round tie between Liverpool and Accrington Stanley will be the first meeting between the clubs in 69 years.
This is The Reds against The 'Owd Reds of course, with Accrington best known for that mad milk advert from the 1980s.
If you fancy Accrington to spring a shock at Anfield, the Lancashire side are available at a whopping 50/1!
Liverpool’s relentless pursuit of the quadruple remains a possibility, which means Arne Slot will be rotating for this.
Diogo Jota could well start in attack. If he does, then 4/1 for him scoring first looks decent enough.
Suggested bet: Jota to score first at 4/1 (Betfair / Paddy Power)
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Manchester City vs Salford City
It’s not been a great season for Man City so far, to put it mildly, and they are another club who should ring the changes here.
As for Salford City, they made history as they reached the third round for the first time after beating Cheltenham Town 2-0 in round two.
My spidey senses fancy Jack Grealish to create a few headlines this weekend.
Grealish has won three Premier League titles, the Champions League, and the FA Cup since his £100m move from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021.
However, he’s now clearly behind Savinho – the Brazilian who signed for £30.8m from Girona last summer – in the Premier League pecking order.
Grealish is famous for his bulging calf muscles and now for not having scored any goals for over a year.
So call me El Loco if you must, but I’m having a piece of the 9/1 available that he bags first against Salford.
He who dares, Rodders. He who dares, my son.
Suggested bet: Grealish to score first at 9/1 (bet365)
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Arsenal vs Manchester United
Are Arsenal getting a bit Spursy? They were shite against Newcastle in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, then boss Mikel Arteta quickly changed the narrative from how one dimensional his side looked at home to ... the ball is actually a bit funny and that’s why we lost.
Puma balls? Nike balls? Arteta just talking a load of balls?
Whichever way you dress it up, this FA Cup clash on Sunday is huge.
Arsenal at 8/13 though? What in the name of Tesco Value ham is going on here?
That’s way too short given how well Man United played against Liverpool and the fact they should be the fresher team having not played a game in midweek.
Ruben Amorim got his team selection and tactics spot on at Anfield, and 4/1 for an away win in north London on Sunday screams value.
Suggested bet: Manchester United to win at 4/1 (Hill’s/Paddy Power)
