There were some interesting outcomes in FA Cup betting last weekend, none gaining more attention than Chelsea’ failure to beat Championship side Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge, or Tottenham’s inability to see off the dogged Stevenage Borough. So that has left us with two replays to come to settle the final eight for this year’s FA Cup quarter finals. We know what is at stake now in FA Cup betting, with the quarter final draw being pretty kind to the big guns left standing in the tournament at the moment.
It is Harry Redknapp’s Spurs who are the outright favourites to win the FA Cup this season, and they are trading at 5/2 with Paddy Power as favourites. No matter what they tried, they couldn’t find a way through a very brave Stevenage at Broadhall Way, which has the forced the replay, an extra game that Spurs could really do without on their Premier League title quest. Spurs will be strong favourites of course back at White Hart Lane for the replay, and the reward is a home tie against Bolton Wanderers in the quarter finals, who beat Millwall 2-0 at The Den to progress.
Liverpool, after their 6-1 drubbing of Brighton are also trading well, and they remain at Anfield for the quarter final draw, as they face an all Premier League clash against Tony Pulis’s Stoke City. Stoke, despite being down to ten men for a long period, secured a comfortable 2-0 away win at Crawley Town on Sunday to move through to the quarters. Despite their poor form in the Premier League, despite rumours of a players revolt, despite not being able to beat Birmingham at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea who had to come from behind to secure a draw against the Championship side, are still one of the main players in the hunt. They won’t fully be relishing a replay at St Andrews against an in form Birmingham, as there could be a massive banana skin waiting for Andre Villas Boas there. The winner of the Birmingham v Chelsea replay gets the advantage of a home draw in the quarter finals against Leicester City.
There is an all Premier League clash in the other quarter final for FA Cup Betting, and that is Everton v Sunderland. While Everton were putting paid to Blackpool at Goodison Park, Sunderland, as many expected they would, enacted some revenge on Arsenal, beating the Gunners, who were still clearly shaken after their 4-0 thrashing by AC Milan. Sunderland had lost to Arsenal in the Premier League on the weekend before their FA Cup clash, with a late, late goal from Thierry Henry. There was no such concerns for Martin O’Neill’s men this time around, as the Black Cats moved through, and probably make a seriously good outside bet for the cup.
2011/12 FA Cup Outright Winner Odds
Spurs: 5/2 at Paddy Power
Liverpool: 11/4 at Stan James
Chelsea: 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Everton: 7/1 at Bet365
Sunderland: 9/1 at SkyBet
Stoke: 20/1 at Bet365
Bolton: 33/1 at Totesport
Birmingham: 50/1 at SkyBet
Leicester: 50/1 at Boylesports
Stevenage: 750/1 at Bet Victor
Online bookmaker Bet356 offer a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first deposit on a new account, with a 100% bonus. This means that on your new Bet365 account, you can get £200 worth of free bets, as they match your initial deposit. Bet365 provide superb FA Cup football betting through their live in play services, and with their 0-0 Bore Draw Special, they offer some insurance as well. Place a pre match Correct Score, Half Time/Full Time or Scorecast bet on any football match listed on the site, and if any bets in those markets lose because the game ends in a 0-0 draw, Bet365 will refund those lost stakes.
