Football Betting
FA Cup Betting
It is FA Cup fifth round weekend in England and Chelsea have a great chance to continue their progress on three fronts. The reigning cup holders take on 2008 finalists Cardiff City at Stamford Bridge and are 1/6 to take their place in the next round.
Chelsea’s home form is, as ever, excellent and Cardiff were thumped 5-1 at St James’ Park in their last away fixture. I can’t see anything other than a win for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in this one.
There’s a great looking south coast fixture on Saturday as Southampton take on their local rivals Portsmouth at St Mary’s. The Saints would sit just outside the play-off places in League One without their ten point deduction and have only lost two league matches at home this season. Portsmouth’s troubles are well-publicised and the Premier League’s bottom club look ripe to be upset in this one.
Portsmouth do retain some quality players even if confidence is low and so whilst their league form may be woeful, their top flight class can still see off a spirited Southampton at 11/8.
Stoke City were my 40/1 tip for Cup glory before the third round kicked off and having seen off Arsenal in round four they face another tough match against Manchester City.
City have been inconsistent in recent weeks after a promising start under Roberto Mancini and with defeats to Hull and Everton in the league over recent weeks the Cup could remain their best chance of glory. Stoke are unbeaten in 2010, however, and I fancy Tony Pulis’ side to earn at least a draw at Eastlands.
Bolton have made smooth progress in the Cup so far with comfortable home victories over Lincoln City and Sheffield United. It gets tougher on Sunday however as the Trotters face Spurs at the Reebok Stadium.
The Premier League is clearly both sides’ priority on this one, but with many of the big guns already out of the Cup, Spurs could well be one of the teams challenging come May. Back Harry Redknapp’s side to prevail at evens.
Crystal Palace’s continued Cup run my be pleasing the administrators as much as it pleases their fans but Sunday sees a tricky home clash against Aston Villa. Whilst Neil Warnock’s side may have seen off a Midlands Premier League club in the last round, Villa are a tough nut to crack and can win this one at 3/4.
FA Cup Betting - FA Cup Matches
Championship Betting
Swansea City sit fifth in the Championship table and have made steady progress this season under the management of Paolo Sousa. They have lost just one of their last ten league matches since a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Saturday’s opponents, Newcastle United, at St James Park.
Newcastle lost the top spot in the Championship after their 3-0 defeat to Derby and need to bounce back in their quest to return to the top flight. They are 6/4 to win this one.
Swansea’s matches tend to be tight affairs with only a total of fifteen goals scored in their last eleven games. Back under 2.5 goals at 4/6.
SPL Betting
After Scottish Cup wins for the big two last weekend, the Premier League returns on Saturday with Rangers holding a ten point advantage at the top of the table. Walter Smith’s side host Hibernian on Sunday with the visitors sitting in third place.
Hibs have won four in a row, scoring fourteen goals in the process. This run includes a 2-1 win at Celtic Park and so John Hughes’ side will not be fazed at a trip to one of the Glasgow giants. You can back Hibs at 13/2 to win this one.
Celtic’s three eye-catching new signings failed to have an immediate impact on their title challenge as a Chris Maguire gave Kilmarnock a rare win over the Hoops last time out. Celtic continue to misfire and if they are to have any chance of reeling in Rangers they’ll need to start with a win at Aberdeen on Saturday.
Scottish Premier League Betting
La Liga Betting
The top three all won in La Liga last weekend, although Barcelona made heavy weather of their 2-1 win over Getafe, having two men red carded along the way. The champions have a tough away fixture this weekend at Atletico Madrid who have improved after a dreadful start to their campaign. The Vicente Calderon is always a tough place to visit and Atletico can do their Madrid rivals a favour in this one by denying Barca a win.
As expected, Xerez have struggled to adapt to life in their first season in La Liga and they are rooted to the bottom of the table with just eleven points. They host Real Madrid on Saturday and this one should be a stroll for Manual Pelligrini’s side at 1/5.
In the other live matches Villarreal take on Athletic Bilbao and stuttering Sevilla play Osasuna.
