This coming weekend sees one of the most romantic and memorable weekends of the season
as 64 teams remaining in FA Cup clash in the Third Round, the point at which the 44 teams in the Premier League and Championship enter the frey alongside the 20 remaining lower-league and non-league sides.
It is certainly one of the most popular weekends for betting on football too with many thousands of punters likely to try and place a few bets themselves over the weekend with the likes of Coral Sports or similar. Perhaps hoping to pick out a giant-killing or two, or maybe even land a very nice accumulator bet.
Of course, this is now made tricky by the fact that many top sides and even some Championship sides, will likely rest players for these games, especially given the brutal period of four games in the space of less than 10 days over the Christmas and New Year holidays. That usually means that many Premier League teams and some Championship level sides, will be fielding much-weakened teams.
Therefore any tips you make and any bets you place, need to take this eventuality into consideration.
So before we start, let’s take a closer look at the full list of 32 matches that are taking place in the FA Cup Third Round, starting on Friday night and progressing through until the final game on Monday evening.
FA Cup Third Round Draw (all games 3pm kick off unless stated)
Friday 5th January 2018
- Liverpool v Everton (7.55pm)
- Manchester United v Derby County (8pm)
Saturday 6th January
- Fleetwood Town v Leicester City (12.45pm)
- Middlesbrough v Sunderland (1pm)
- Aston Villa v Peterborough
- Birmingham City v Burton Albion
- Blackburn Rovers v Hull City
- Bolton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town
- Bournemouth v Wigan Athletic
- Brentford v Notts County
- Cardiff City v Mansfield Town
- Coventry City v Stoke City
- Doncaster Rovers v Rochdale
- Exeter City v West Bromwich Albion
- Fulham v Southampton
- Ipswich Town v Sheffield United
- Manchester City v Burnley
- Millwall v Barnsley
- Newcastle United v Luton Town
- P.R v MK Dons
- Stevenage Borough v Reading
- Watford v Bristol City
- Wolves v Swansea City
- Wycombe Wanderers v Preston North End
- Yeovil Town v Bradford City
- Norwich City v Chelsea (5.30pm)
Sunday 7th January
- Newport County v Leeds United (12pm)
- Shrewsbury Town v West Ham (2pm)
- Tottenham Hotspur v AFC Wimbledon
- Nottingham Forest v Arsenal (4pm)
Monday 8th January
- Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace
What we have done is gone through the list of games shown above and come up with a selection of different bets that people will make this weekend and we’ll start with our accumulator bet.
FA Cup Third Round Accumulator
This is a tricky set of fixtures because of the likely team changes you will see in the competition, so even matches which have a clear favourite, may not be so clear-cut. With that in mind though, that does mean some longer-odds results are possible which is why we have gone for the following five-fold accumulator:
- Fleetwood Town v Leicester City – Away Win
- Birmingham City v Burton Albion – Home Win
- Fulham v Southampton – Home Win
- Watford v Bristol City – Home Win
- Shrewsbury Town v West Ham – Away Win
At the moment, the best price you can get on this fivefold accumulator is around 36/1, but I would strongly advise you to wait until just a day or so before the games to place your bet as you will have far better information on team news for the matches and the odds on these selections may well have changed.
Our Giantkilling Tips
Fulham v Southampton (Fulham to win is a 3/1 shot)
This is the first match that really leaps out at me as a potential giant-killing, although that is perhaps a tad unfair on Southampton who are a club that are about the same size in terms of support and stature as Fulham, the only difference being Fulham are in the Championship while Southampton remain in the top flight.
The Saints have endured a rocky and inconsistent campaign so far, with some very good performances, notably in their 4-1 home win over Everton, but also some very poor displays. Defensively they are sound enough, but they have only scored 17 goals in the Premier League at the time of writing.
Fulham are 12th in the Championship but have a decent home record and do raise their game against the better sides. I can see them giving the Saints some real problems here and if the likes of Ryan Sessegnon, Tom Cairney and Sheyi Ojo can find their best form, then the visitors could be in for a tough afternoon.
Manchester City v Burnley (Burnley to win 16/1)
Ok, I admit, it looks like I have lost my senses here, even given Burnley’s incredible Premier League campaign so far. Man City, at the time or writing, seem to be unbeatable, so why have I gone against all the evidence and backed a Burnley win here?
First off, there is no way City will pick a full strength team for this game. Pep Guardiola’s men are top of the Premier League, in the Carabao Cup semis and also in the next round of Champions League games. I would guess that all those now come as a priority before their FA Cup campaign. Add into this the fact that the team will have played four Premier League games in 10 or so days prior to this and there is no way Guardiola will go with a full strength team here and in all likelihood, I can see him making 9+ changes to the team he last picked in the Premier League.
That factor alone I think gives Burnley a chance, as they have already beaten some big name teams on the road this season. Sean Dyche doesn’t have the luxury of being able to rotate too many top names and with their Premier League status all but assured, I think he may fancy his chances here.
I could end up with egg on my face here, but Burnley were similar odds on the opening day of the season away at Chelsea and won. I think that they could spring an upset here and do likewise at the Etihad.
Worried about your gambling?