FA Cup betting tips: Man City to beat Liverpool, Gabriel Martinelli to score, and more FA Cup quarter-final betting tips
Thankfully, that’s the last international break of the season, all done and dusted. Get in the bin. Underwhelming doesn’t quite cut it.
England were bobbins against Japan on Tuesday, March 31, and yet are still clear second favourites with the bookies to win the World Cup this summer.
Anyway, stick the kettle on and hide your good biscuits, as this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final matches are creeping up on us like a wily old fox in a cardigan.
Read on for a breakdown of the best bets from this weekend’s FA Cup TV games from Sports News Blitz’s punting laureate - The Bookie Basher - including the big one between Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday, April 4.
Manchester City vs Liverpool
FA Cup quarter-final time and no doubting the tie of the round.
Liverpool have not been at the races in the Premier League this season, so Arne Slot will be desperate to get a win here and keep alive his chances of landing some silverware.
Manchester City have played the Reds twice this season and won both matches, so it’s tough to look beyond them claiming another win at HQ.
Is Liverpool’s peak level enough to get them over the line in this sort of fixture?
My hunch is no, and that’s down to their poor away record this season. A loss to Brighton last time out made it three defeats in four Premier League games, and Pep Guardiola’s men should be trusted to get the job done in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Suggested bet: Manchester City to win & both teams to score at 21/10 (bet365)
READ MORE: Soccer analysis: Can Thomas Tuchel’s England win FIFA World Cup 2026 without Harry Kane?
Chelsea vs Port Vale
League One basement club Port Vale have done well to get to this point, but even factoring in the romance of the Cup, it would surely take a madman to nap them here.
Hold my beer...I'm backing Port Vale at 34/1.
The Blues simply cannot be punted at 1/12 - especially given the fact that diesel now costs more than crack cocaine.
They’ve been priced up like they have already booked the Wembley hotel.
The Liam Rosenior experiment doesn’t seem to be working at Chelsea, does it? The Blues have lost four on the bounce and failed to score in any of their last three matches.
Anyone who has followed Chelsea this season from a betting perspective will concur that certainty - when it comes to Rosenior et al - is always provisional.
The Valiants look to be heading out of League One, but Cup shocks do happen. Ronnie Radford’s iconic 30-yard sh*t-pinger?
The Crazy Gang beating The Culture Club in the 1988 FA Cup Final? Mickey Thomas? Tim Buzaglo?
Trust me, if there are more than five inflatable bananas in the away end on Saturday, Chelsea are bang in bother.
Suggested bet: Port Vale to win at 34/1 (Bet MGM)
Southampton vs Arsenal
The Gunners will be hurting after that League Cup final defeat to Man City the other week.
Mikel Arteta’s men simply failed to show up, but are still very much in the box seat when it comes to the Premier League title race.
Arsenal’s roster is deep enough, but even still, 30/100 looks short here.
Lumping a heavy favourite in the FA Cup is like trusting a sat nav that is calmly telling you to drive into a lake.
It sounds confident, but something feels off and given that the Gunners are away from home and are bound to rotate, I am instead going to put a bit of faith in Gabriel Martinelli.
The Brazilian has started all three FA Cup matches for Arsenal this season and has bagged four goals during that run.
He is 11/5 to score anytime at St Mary’s, and if that’s not a bet on Saturday night, then I don’t know what is.
Suggested bet: Martinelli to score anytime at 11/5 (Bet Victor)
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West Ham United vs Leeds United
At first glance, this looks like a tough fixture to call. Tighter than a pickled onion jar lid.
The teams are separated by just four points in the Premier League, but while Leeds hit a purple patch a while back, they have won just seven of their last 25 games.
The Hammers, meanwhile, have won seven of their last 13 matches and might have an extra gear here.
West Ham can be backed at a shade under 6/4 to win in 90 minutes. In the immortal words of Hammers fan Alf Garnett, "Gertcha "- I can’t Adam and Eve it! Some tea leaf has half-inched me dog and bone."
Suggested bet: West Ham to win at 29/20 (bet365)
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