FA Cup Third Round Tips

The third-round of the FA Cup gets underway on Friday evening with two matches featuring four Premier League sides. WhichBookie footy tipster Matt Le Tissier shares his thoughts on the upcoming fixtures and picks out a double and a treble along with a Friday evening NAP.

Matt also shares an early prediction for the outright winner of this seasons FA Cup.

FA Cup fixtures can be difficult to call. When you’re thinking about these games, you have to try and work out which teams are going to rest a number of players based on the position they’re in in their respective leagues.

My advice to anyone this weekend is to wait until the lineups are announced an hour before kick-off before committing to any bets.

Wolves v Crystal Palace – NAP – (Friday 19:45)

Wolves to beat Crystal Palace will be may NAP for these FA Cup fixtures. At just over evens at home, that’s a decent price to beat Palace. I think Palace will be more likely to rest players than Wolves will and if that’s the case then the current price on Wolves is looking pretty good.

Wolves v Crystal Palace
Wolves to win	11/10		Visit

FA Cup Third-Round Double

I’d like to try and get a bit of value out of a double and so my first selection is QPR to beat Fulham. I think with the position Fulham sit in the league currently, the FA Cup won’t be of huge interest to them. From that perspective, I think there is a chance of an upset in this game.

Swansea to beat Stevenage will be my other selection in my double. They’re in good form at the moment and at odds of around 1/2 to win away on Saturday.

FA Cup Third Round Double
QPR to beat Fulham	13/5		Visit
Swansea to beat Stevenage	13/25		Visit
QPR / Swansea Double	4.4/1		Visit

FA Cup Third- Round Treble

On a weekend like this, for a treble, I’d try and select three likely results that give combined odds of around 6/4. This one comes in a little higher than that.

This week I’ll be going for:

• Norwich to beat Coventry (12:00 Saturday)
• Blackburn to beat Doncaster (15:00 Saturday)
• Bournemouth to beat Oldham (15:00 Saturday)

At just over 3/1, this treble seems to have some value.

FA Cup Third Round Treble
Norwich to beat Coventry	4/5		Visit
Blackburn to beat Doncaster	7/10		Visit
Bournemouth to beat Oldham	4.4/1		Visit
Norwich / Blackburn / Bournemouth Treble	3.24/1		Visit

FA Cup Outright Winner Tip

I quite fancy Man Utd to end their jinx of losing semi-finals and go on to win the FA Cup this year. They’re currently at a best price of 9/1 with several bookies such as 888Sport, Paddy Power and Betfred and even as an each way bet, which would pay out if they reached the final, it’s a decent price.

FA Cup Outright Winner
Manchester United	9/1		Visit

Aston Villa v Liverpool (19:45 Friday)

It was announced on Friday that the match between Aston Villa and Liverpool will go ahead as planned but that Villa will likely be fielding a team made up of Under 23s and Under 18s. This has shifted the odds significantly in Liverpool’s favour.

It will be interesting to see just how ruthless Liverpool will be. What makes this fixture interesting is the League Cup game last year where Villa took advantage of a weakened Liverpool side and went to town on them winning 5-0. Tonight’s match seems like a similar situation in reverse.

William Hill released an enhanced odds offer yesterday which offers new customers boosted odds of 35/1 for a Liverpool win. This was released before today’s news of the weekend squad Villa will be fielding and so it shows even more value now.

William Hill

Liverpool to beat Aston Villa 35/1

Enhanced Odds

Liverpool to beat Aston Villa 35/1

Claim Offer

18+. Play Safe. New customers using EPL35. Mobile only. Applies to bets placed from 09:00 on 07 January 2021 until 19:45 on 08 January 2021. Max £1 bet at 35/1. Returns paid as 7 x £5 free bets (30 day expiry). Player & currency restrictions & terms apply.

Arsenal v Newcastle (17:30 Saturday)

Arsenal have turned a bit of a corner of late and three consecutive wins have pulled them away from the relegation zone and things are looking very different for them now. Newcastle haven’t had great success in the Cup in past seasons and now isn’t the best time for them to be going to Arsenal. They’re five games without a win in the league and I think the price of 1/2 for an Arsenal win is fair.

Arsenal v Newcastle
Arsenal to win	1/2		Visit

Manchester United v Watford (20:00 Saturday)

I’d back Man Utd here. I think if Watford had been at home, I may have given them a half a chance but I think United will be too strong for them. Watford are in a good position in the Championship and I don’t think they should be too concerned about having a big run in the cup if they want to get back into the Premier League.

Man Utd are currently 33/100 with 888Sport for the win.

Man Utd v Watford
Man Utd to win	33/100		Visit

FA Cup Third-Round Upsets

Apart from QPR against Fulham, which I’ve included in my double this week, I can’t see too many upsets. However, one match which could throw a banana skin is Newport County v Brighton. Newport are playing pretty well at the moment and are 11/2 at home for the win and it’s not inconceivable that we could see that happen.

Newport County v Brighton
Newport County to win	11/2		Visit

Premier League Matchday 18

Newcastle are a good price to win against Sheff Utd at 11/5. I just can’t see Sheff Utd winning a game at the moment. Up until a couple of weeks ago I could have done but their last couple of performances have showed that they haven’t threatened enough. They haven’t scored a goal in three games and only managed to score more than one goal in one match this season which they ending up losing. I’d be surprised to see them get anything from this game.

Sheffield United v Newcastle
Newcastle to win	11/5		Visit