Arsenal v Man Utd
The first of our FA CUP Fourth Round betting tips takes us to possibly the biggest of all – Arsenal v Man U. Arsenal and Manchester United meet in London on Friday night in front of the BBC cameras in what will be the pick of the Fourth Round fixtures. The Premier League sides haven’t clashed in this competition since March 2015 when playing out a thrilling 2-1 Arsenal win at Old Trafford. A Wayne Rooney goal was bettered by strikes from Nacho Monreal and Danny Welbeck. The home side would surely settle for a repeat performance; however, much has changed in both camps since that day. Neutrals will be hoping for a few more goals to brighten things up a bit.
This tie gives The Gunners a chance to leave their sketchy league form at the door and enjoy playing knockout football without the burden of chasing points as they battle against the odds to land a top-four finish and return to the Champions League. The North Londoners remain in the hunt for a prize this season; however, they have won only two of their last five, that run made up of draw-loss-win-loss-win. Unai Emery’s troops suffered a shock defeat at West Ham but bounced back to keep their dreams alive with a stunning 2-0 win over Chelsea at this venue last time out. They needed it too.
United Reborn
Manchester United has been like a new team since Jose Mourinho was sacked and replaced by former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The squad have responded to the change and the rookie manager has made a record-breaking start to life back at the theatre of dreams, winning each of his first six league games. That has catapulted The Red Devils back into contention for a Champions League finish and they enjoy a break sitting level on points with Arsenal and just three points off Chelsea in fourth. It’s shaping up to be a dramatic chase with six teams looking to squeeze into four places come the final count.
The visitors’ best performance since Solskjaer took charge came on their penultimate start when beating Tottenham 1-0 at Wembley; this result was achieved thanks to a Rashford goal just before the break; the striker repaid the confidence placed in him by his gaffer, himself a man who knew how to put the ball in the net on a big occasion. That narrow, yet important win was followed by an entertaining 2-1 at Old Trafford when hosting Brighton last weekend. A match they were expected to win, they landed the three points thanks to goals from Pogba and Rashford, the latter notching his 41st for the club. There’s sure to be many more for this progressive young attacker.
Bookies with a Home Win
Despite that impressive start, bookies set-up against Man Utd in this one and have had no problem marking the home win as favourite. Those who agree will get their hands on a tempting 6/4 with 888sport and many backers will see that as a fine way to start the weekend. The draw can’t be easily overlooked, especially with 5/2 sent out by 888sport. Fancy another Man Utd win as they keep themselves in the race for silverware? Backers of the away day will get 17/10 with many firms, including Bet365.
We’re happy to avoid predicting the match-winner in what’s sure to be a competitive cup tie and will, instead, put our trust in the stats. Flicking through the head-to-head results we see both teams have scored in each of the last three meetings of these age-old rivals, including a 2-2 at Old Trafford on league duty back in December. Both have also found the net in five of the last six and that’s more than enough to catch our attention. Back both teams to score in your multiples at 8/15 – best price when playing through Bet365.
Our Tip: BTTS – 8/15 at Bet365
Millwall v Everton
The next of our FA Cup fourth round betting tips are for Millwall v Everton. The BBC cameras are back in London on Saturday afternoon when bringing us a blow-by-blow account of Millwall v Everton at The Den. This pits a hard-working Championship side with a free-spending Premier League opponent and looks to have all the ingredients of a cracking cup tie. Could we see a famous giant-killing? An expectant home crowd will certainly believe so and there’s no reason why Millwall shouldn’t go into this tie confident of upsetting the odds and progressing to the next round with a win.
The Lions have been less than impressive in the Championship so far this season and take the day off with their league form reading 7-8-13, the 29 points on the board leaving them to struggle down in 19th, sitting just six points better than Reading and the relegation zone. They are without a win in their last two, following defeat to Blackburn Rovers at this venue with a 1-1 away to Middlesbrough. Wallace had the away side in front on 21 minutes that day, but they dropped two points when Hugill scored from the penalty spot with 90 on the clock.
Toffees Target a Cup Run
Everton will be hoping to pull rank and breeze into the next round of the FA Cup, giving their long-suffering fans something to dream of. The visitors have, again, performed below par in the Premier League this season and just eight wins from 23 games has them 11th, behind the likes of Watford, Wolves and Leicester, despite investing heavily in the squad over the last few transfer windows. They’ve taken just three points from the last dozen available to them and were beaten on their most recent outing.
That loss came in the form of a 2-1 reverse away to lowly Southampton, Ward-Prowse and a Digne own-goal doing the damage before Sigurdsson hit back in stoppage-time at the end of the contest. It’s interesting to learn that Everton have now lost four of their last five away games in the Premier League and they’ll be desperate to remedy that travel sickness with a win in London to help inject a bit of confidence back into the ranks. It’ll be interesting to see just how the visitors approach this tie and how seriously they value the competition when enduring a share of league troubles.
Day off for Everton
A poor side from the Championship in with a midtable Premier League opponent who is off form but has shown glimmers of their true potential already this season. We’re well aware of the magic of the FA Cup but we’re going to take the side of the higher-ranked team and back Everton to progress. Bookmakers share our thinking and have marked the away day as favourite with no better than Unibet’s 7/10 out there to be snatched at. Another to add to your accumulator of the day.
Millwall may line-up suffering from a lack of confidence but they are good enough and determined enough with the backing of their own support to make life difficult for their opponents who will get nothing for free here. Traders appear to have taken Millwall lightly and that’s dangerous, so we wouldn’t put anyone off backing the locals for a value play at the 9/2 going. The draw is 14/5 (Bet365).
Our Tip: Everton to win – 7/10 at Unibet
AFC Wimbledon v West Ham
AFC Wimbledon gets their moment in the sun when inviting Premier League side West Ham to town in a match that should sum up everything great and good about the FA Cup. The locals haven’t been given a chance by pundits of getting anything out of this match, but the tournament is known the world over for its upsets. Will The Wombles strike another at 11/2 (Bet365)?
We don’t fancy it and would much rather have our stake money riding on the away day at 1/2 with 888sport. Not a price that’s going to make you rich on its own, of course, but there is value there and it’s better than we expected to find when first looking at this fixture. The Hammers should appear in most accumulators over the weekend. Those looking for a better price can try their luck on -1 goal on the handicap at 7/5 and that leaps off the page at us. Follow the game live on BT Sport from 7.45pm on Saturday night.
Our Tip: West Ham to win – 1/2 at 888sport
Barnet v Brentford
The last of our FA Cup fourth round betting tips takes us to Barnet v Brentford. The final live match of the weekend’s FA Cup fixtures goes on Monday night in front of the BT Sport cameras as the TV station shine a spotlight on two teams looking to grab the headlines and make a name for themselves in front of an increased audience. Barnet may enjoy home advantage, but they have been written off by the money men who offer a chunky 16/5 (Unibet) on the locals sneaking through to the next round.
That leaves Brentford as convincing favourites and we must say we agree with traders on that call. The visitors are 8/15 with Coral and it’s difficult to argue against that stance. It’s tight but there’s more than enough to work with there and they look the perfect team to round off your accumulators, giving backers value for money over the four days of play from the FA Cup.