live FA Cup betting

Everyone likes to talk about the magic of the FA Cup, although Leeds United’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford was the only result that really lit up the third round. Elsewhere, Reading’s sturdy performance when drawing 1-1 with Liverpool was about as newsworthy as it got and the Berkshire club are likely to go out in next week’s replay.

Indeed, this is a competition that has been dominated by the ‘Big Four’ for several years. Aside from Portsmouth in 2008, one of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United have won the FA Cup since Everton won this piece of silverware in 1995. You might have profited from backing teams like West Ham (2006), Millwall (2004) or Southampton (2003) on an each-way basis, although it’s been pretty predictable when it comes to picking out the winner.

Perhaps this is the season where the tables have turned, especially as Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City have seemingly closed the gap on the ‘Big Four’ (indeed, in the case of Liverpool, perhaps they have caught up with them). The trio have the bonus of not being involved in European competition this season and have clearly ear-marked the FA Cup as a priority (along with trying to finish in the top four of the Premier League).

City catch the eye at 7/1 (bet365) on the outright market, especially with the team looking in good nick since Roberto Mancini became manager. It’s possible that they will spend big during the January transfer window and the club’s rich owners will want the prestige of winning some silverware as they look to broaden global appeal. The Citizens have been drawn away at Scunthorpe in the fourth round and have a squad brimming with talent.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill claims that the FA Cup is ‘back in vogue’ and, while he played a weakened team to beat Blackburn in the third round, a home tie with Brighton should ensure that the Villans also feature in the last sixteen of the competition. The Midlands side proved recently when winning at Old Trafford that they can win one-off matches anywhere these days and some might consider them an attractive each-way prospect at 10/1 (Stan James).

Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp loves a cup competition and was the manager that steered Portsmouth to FA Cup glory in 2008. Admittedly he was helped by Barnsley, who knocked Chelsea and Liverpool out en route, although he now manages a stronger squad than the side that he had at Fratton Park. Although many people are getting excited about their match against Leeds in the fourth round, let’s remember that the visitors are still a League One team who will be big outsiders. Therefore, the 15/2 (bet365) that Spurs land the spoils could also be worth an interest.

After all, if Chelsea play a weakened team away to Darren Ferguson’s team and lose, with Arsenal facing a tricky assignment at Stoke, then these teams will become a lot shorter!

We witnessed a famous FA Cup upset at Old Trafford on Sunday, with Leeds United obliging with victory at odds of 10/1. While Manchester United weren’t at full-strength, the best pre-match price available about the English champions was 1/4 with bet365, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s men expected to expose the gulf in class between the two sides.

At half-time, Jermaine Beckford’s 19th minute goal was the difference between the two teams  and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to pay a visit to one of the best bookmakers for In-Play betting. Bet365 have a cuttting-edge live betting console and it was interesting to note that they were making the Red Devils 7/5 favourites before the second-half kicked off. The draw was priced at 2/1, with Leeds available at 21/10 despite their advantage.

At the interval, you could also have backed ‘No Second Goal’ at odds of 9/2 with bet365, with Manchester United a 1/3 chance to score next and the visitors at 5/1 to grab a second. The bookmakers were clearly expecting Sir Alex Ferguson to have a few harsh words for his team in the dressing room!

However, five minutes into the second half and Leeds looked relatively comfortable. Wayne Rooney was already starting to come deep for the ball and the League One team were having a fair share of possession. United were out to 8/5 on bet365′s In-Play console, with the draw 2/1 and Leeds at 15/8. The odds on there being Under 2.5 or Over 2.5 goals were both 5/6, with the champions still expected to score.

By the 56th minute, Manchester United werre still failing to make an impact and bet365 decided to make them the 15/8 outsiders to win the match. With 35 minutes left (plus stoppage time), Leeds were the 7/4 favourites and were occasionally threatening on the break. Valencia and Giggs were thrown on in a bid to shake things up.

As the game went past the hour mark, bet365′s traders were changing the match odds every two minutes, something to note for future In-Play betting matches. The Red Devils must have been heavily backed by many customers expecting the Premier League team to eventually find a breakthrough and kick on to win, although Simon Grayson’s team were standing firm. In the 62nd minute, Man United were made 9/4 chances by bet365, with Leeds still available at 6/4 to back. However, by the 68th minute with Leeds looking comfortable, the home side were 11/4 and the visitors were 5/4. The draw was available at 7/4.

As we went past the 75th minute, the bet365 traders had seen enough of Manchester United’s lacklustre display to decide it was unlikely they would score two goals in the remaining time. Bet365 offered 5/1 about Manchester United and made Leeds odds-on (5/6) for the first time in the match. Indeed, it was the Yorkshire side that nearly scored around the 80th minute, with Beckford shooting wide and then Snodgrass hitting the woodwork with a free-kick. Manchester United were now 9/1, the draw was 9/4 and Leeds were 1/2 chances.

There was an additional five minutes of injury time for the Red Devils to salvage a draw and they nearly came close to obliging at odds of 15/4 with a goalmouth scramble. However, it was those that had backed Leeds before the match or In-Play with bet365 that were celebrating by the final whistle.