No EPL this weekend due to Round 5 of the FA Cup being played from Saturday night till Tuesday morning (AEDT). It’s always a tough prospect to predict FA Cup winners. You usually get 1 or 2 massive upsets every round, but we’ll do our best to predict those upsets as we give you our FA Cup Round 5 Preview and Betting Tips below.
We’ll take a close look at four of the bigger matchups as well as give you our tips for the remaining four games.
FA Cup Round 5 Betting Tips
Huddersfield Town vs Manchester City (Sunday 2am AEDT)
A real contender for promotion out of the Championship this year is Huddersfield Town. They currently sit 3rd on the table, just 5 points behind ladder leaders Newcastle. However, with just 42 goals for and 35 against, they have one of the worst goal differences of any club in the top eight teams. German forward Elias Kachunga leads the team in offence with 10 goals on the season while Australian Aaron Mooy has been a mainstay in the midfield with 2 goals and 3 assists. However, being owned by Manchester City and out on loan to Huddersfield, Mooy will be unable to participate in the FA Cup tie.
Manchester City come into the match full of confidence, with three straight wins in the EPL. There’s no doubt they have the pedigree over Huddersfield here, especially with Mooy out. It’s not known what type of line-up the Sky Blues will field, however, with a Champions League tie against Monaco waiting for them Wednesday, and hopes to close the eight-point gap between them and Chelsea in the Premier League, their priorities could lie elsewhere. Either way, they should still be a little too strong for the Championship side here.
TIP: Manchester City to win + both teams to score - $2.88 at Bet365
Wolverhampton vs Chelsea (Sunday 4.30am AEDT)
Wolverhampton are generally a perennial top team in the English Championship, usually pushing for promotion. This year, however, they have been struggling and could even face relegation to England’s 3rd league for the first time since 2013. Sitting just 6 points clear of the relegation zone, the Wolves focus should squarely be on staying in the Championship here. Midfielder David Edwards leads the team offensively with 9 goals on the season so far in what has been a low scoring side.
They should really struggle to find the back of the net against the best defence in the country in Chelsea. Wolverhampton’s 38 goals for in the Championship is one of the worst tally’s in the league, which doesn’t bode well for their Chances to score against the Blues. With no Champions League action this year, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will be chasing any piece of silverware he can get this season and should field an extremely strong side here.
Look for Chelsea to win by at least 2 goals.
TIP: Chelsea -1 - $2.10 at Sportsbet
Milwall vs Leicester City (2am Sunday AEDT)
The struggling Leicester come up against one of the three remaining teams not from the Premier League of Championship in the Round of 16. Milwall are 6th on the table team in League 1, Enlgand’s third ranked league. It’s safe to say that we don’t know much about this league, and the competition there isn’t nearly as good as the Championship or Premier League. As I said though, the Round of 16 always throws up a upset or two and I think this could be the game.
Leicester have been the worst team in the Premier League over the last few months. They have lost five games and have a woeful 1-2-7 record over their last ten. An away game at Milwall won’t be an easy task for the struggling team. You would also have to think that the manager’s priorities would be in both staying in the Premier League where they are currently only 1 point clear of relegation, and also in the Champions League where they have actually been playing some good football. Milwall draw no bet looks an okay play here.
TIP: Milwall (draw no bet) - $2 at Sportsbet
Burnley vs Lincoln United (11.30pm Saturday AEDT)
One of only two teams not in England’s top three leagues features here in Lincoln City as they take on the red-hot Burnley. Burnley managed to tame the Premier League beast last week as they held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw after debutant Robbie Brady levelled with a great free kick goal. All things going according to script, they should roll through the Lincoln team who sit first on the National League table, which is England’s 5th league. Lincoln have been impressive in their own league, with 20 wins from 30 games and a fantastic +30 goal difference, however, Burnley have been taking the challenge to the best teams in the EPL all year.
After being promoted just this year, Burnley has shocked many experts with the way they have played, and currently sit 12th on the EPL table. Look for them to maintain possession here as they have done over the weaker EPL sides all season and get the 1 to 2 goals they need to claim victory. With not much value in the H2H market, we like the UNDER on total goals here.
TIP: Total Goals UNDER 2.5 – 2.23 at Sportsbet
Remaining Games
Middlesbrough vs Oxford – Total Goals UNDER 2.5 - $2 at Bet365
Fulham vs Tottenham – Tottenham to Win to Nil - $3.40 at Sportsbet
Sutton United vs Arsenal – Sutton United +3 - $1.67 at Bet365
Blackburn United vs Manchester United – Man U -1 - $2 at Sporsbet
