When to bet
The FA Cup third round starts at 8pm on Thursday
Best bets
Bournemouth
1pt
each-way 66-1 general
Wolves
1pt each-way 80-1 bet365
FA Cup 🍋 outright
predictions
Heavyweight clubs have largely dominated the FA Cup in the Premier League
era but there have been two first-time 🍋 FA Cup winners (Wigan and Leicester) over the
last 11 years and there is the potential for another in 2024 🍋 with 66-1 shots
Bournemouth making each-way appeal to get their hands on the trophy.
Only nine clubs
have won the FA 🍋 Cup since the Premier League's inaugural season in 1992-93 and five of
those teams were multiple winners with Arsenal proving 🍋 the most successful with nine
successes over the last 31 years.
The cash generated by the Premier League and
additional revenue 🍋 streams garnered from the Champions League have been key to enabling
a select few to dominate the FA Cup, but 🍋 there have been exceptions with Portsmouth
(2008), Wigan (2013) and Leicester (2024) enjoying their moments under the famous
arch.
Markets anticipate 🍋 one of the big clubs coming to the fore in 2024-24 and there
is reverence for holders Manchester City, who 🍋 are 3-1 to defend the trophy.
City have
won the FA Cup twice in seven seasons under Pep Guardiola and are 🍋 obvious
contenders.
Guardiola's side could be stronger in the coming months with Kevin De
Bruyne and Erling Haaland on the mend 🍋 following injuries and they appear to have an
easy starter at home to Huddersfield but it is questionable whether they 🍋 deserve to be
such short odds.
City's Premier League points tally (40 from 19 games) is their lowest
at the halfway 🍋 point of a season since the 2024-20 campaign.
They landed a trophy
treble last season but there have been signs of 🍋 a hangover and their EFL Cup challenge
concluded at the first hurdle with a 1-0 loss away to Newcastle.
All of 🍋 the other main
contenders are available at double-figure odds, including 10-1 shots Arsenal, who start
with a titanic third-round clash 🍋 at home to 12-1 shots Liverpool.
Whoever comes through
the Emirates Stadium clash will fancy their chances of going all the 🍋 way, but the FA
Cup is not going to be the main priority for either club.
Arsenal have their title
challenge 🍋 and the Champions League to think about, while Liverpool's main focus will be
to defend their hard-earned advantage in the 🍋 Premier League.
Aside from that the Reds
have a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final with Fulham on the horizon, and they resume 🍋 their
Europa League challenge in March.
Chelsea have no such European commitments to worry
about and they have a superb recent 🍋 record in the FA Cup having lifted the trophy on
six occasions since the turn of the millennium.
The Blues should 🍋 cruise past
third-round opponents Preston, who are Saturday's visitors to Stamford Bridge, but they
have been a mid-table Premier League 🍋 side for 18 months and look simply too short at
11-1.
Value is also in short supply when it comes to 🍋 Manchester United and Newcastle,
who are 10-1 and 12-1.
United should get past League One Wigan at the DW Stadium on
🍋 Monday but they are hard to trust in the Premier League and could fall short as soon as
they meet 🍋 high-class opposition.
Newcastle might have a better chance if they can get
over their injury crisis.
However, they are looking threadbare in 🍋 the run up to
Saturday's trip to north-east rivals Sunderland and could suffer an immediate knockout
blow.
Tottenham's lack of European 🍋 football makes them an interesting proposition at
14-1, but they are going through a tough period in terms of player 🍋 absentees and their
third-round tie at home to Burnley is far from a foregone conclusion.
Brighton's
involvement in the Europa League, 🍋 allied to a tricky third-round trip to Stoke, makes
them a difficult sell at 16-1 and Aston Villa (available at 🍋 20-1) are likely to be
distracted as they focus heavily on a push for a top-four finish.
There is scope for
🍋 one of the more unfashionable clubs to go deep and Bournemouth fit the bit as a lively
each-way contender.
The Cherries 🍋 have taken 19 points from their last eight Premier
League games which is more than any other team in the 🍋 division.
They have got
themselves into a comfortable mid-table position and look primed to have a real crack
at the FA 🍋 Cup starting with Saturday's trip to Championship strugglers QPR.
Bournemouth
will probably need to beat some big clubs on the way 🍋 to Wembley but they have
registered successes at home to Newcastle (2-0) and away to Manchester United (3-0)
over the 🍋 last two months and are not without hope of a long run in the
competition.
Another team making lots of appeal 🍋 are 80-1 shots Wolves, who open up with
a trip to Brentford on Friday.
Being drawn away to a fellow top-flight 🍋 side is far from
ideal but Wolves go into the contest after three straight Premier League wins and they
face 🍋 a Bees side weakened by the ongoing absences of star forwards Bryan Mbeumo (ankle)
and Ivan Toney (suspension).
Wolves have every 🍋 chance of passing their test in west
London and they would be tough opponents for anyone in the later rounds.
They 🍋 have
registered 2-1 wins at home to Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea in the Premier
League and may have the 🍋 capacity to go all the way to a Wembley final.
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