the fa cup fifth round is looming, but before we reach that stage of the competition there’s still some business to be tied up. there are four ties from the previous round yet to be settled, which includes newport’s meeting with tottenham at wembley. while many will despise the idea of fourth round replays at the national stadium, that certainly won’t be the case for the welsh side, who have a huge occasion to look forward to on wednesday night.
huddersfield head to birmingham on wednesday night, following their 1-1 draw at the end of january. you have to wonder just how much stock huddersfield will be putting in this competition, especially with their relegation fears growing. while they could spark a cup run, would they rather have their players save themselves for bigger premier league games to come?
with clashes against the likes of bournemouth and west brom to come, there is a strong case for the terriers rotating heavily for this replay, which could give birmingham an opportunity to get a fine victory here.
however, the hosts are in a similar boat too, as they are hovering above the drop zone in the championship going into this weekend. they will be expecting to pull away from danger, but a cup run isn’t the best thing to help them with that. we can’t see any way these two sides go all out for glory in this replay, they’re likely to push for a place in the next round with a weakened side. as a result, we’re backing under 2.5 goals in this clash, which is priced at betting odds of 8/13 with betvictor according to our odds comparison.
the only tie not featuring a premier league side this weekend sees league one rochdale aiming to forget their relegation worries by earning a positive result against millwall. the hosts are second from bottom in the third tier, and with 11 points separating them from safety, they’re going to struggle to stay up in league one this term. a cup run could provide some joy for their long-suffering supporters, but can they manage to get past championship outfit millwall on tuesday night?
according to our odds comparison, the lions are the favourites despite failing to win the home meeting. the hosts are 6/5 with coral to progress to the fifth round, where they’re likely to meet tottenham in a heated clash. while rochdale will be looking to book a clash with premier league opposition, they do have a mountain to climb in this game.
while this is likely to be a tough clash for rochdale, they did manage to score twice in the last meeting. with both teams scoring in four of the last five meetings between these two teams, we think backing both teams to score is the best bet here, and it is priced at 8/11 with betfred.
swansea have just started to battle their way into contention for survival in the premier league. there’s been a clear bounce in their form since carlos carvalhal took charge, but will they look to continue their cup run? they are unbeaten in six since entering this competition, so it seems like the cup has had a positive effect on the swans’ form. given that they’re at home to league two opposition this week, they should really be pushing for a place in the next round. with sheffield wednesday to come in the next round, there’s a real chance for success if the welsh side keep pushing.
obviously the premier league side are heavy favourites across the board on our odds comparison. the welsh side needed a replay to see off championship side wolves in the last round, and we’re backing them to progress at home once again this week. they won 2-1 at home to wolves, while notts county lost 2-1 in their two league games before the draw with swansea, so we can see a few goals in this one. we’re backing a home win and over 2.5 goals, which is priced at 23/20 with betfred.
tottenham’s draw with newport was one of the shocks of the round last time out, and it was very nearly a defeat until harry kane intervened late on. mauricio pochettino’s side are pushing for this competition, and that is reflected in their price here, as they can be found at 1/12 with 888sport to win on our odds comparison.
spurs have stuck with a strong side in the cup so far, and we don’t expect that to change here. however, they should have a much easier time of things than they did in wales in the last meeting, and we expect the hosts to claim a heavy win at wembley. we’re backing spurs with a -2 handicap in this game, which can be backed at evens with betfair.
cup winner: can anyone stop city’s trophy dash?
while sides are still battling to make it in to the fifth round, the bookies are giving them little chance of lifting the cup this season. man city are heavy favourites for glory in this competition, as they’re priced at 2/1 with ladbrokes in the outright fa cup winner market. man united and chelsea follow them, but we’re more tempted by leicester’s price of 12/1 with betvictor.
they meet sheffield united in the next round – another lower league side for the foxes – and claude puel’s team have the strength in depth to keep pushing in this competition. as a result, we’re backing them each way to lift the trophy.