FA Cup third round weekend usually throws up some surprises but cup shocks ain’t what they used to be.
The financial gulf between the top and bottom sides has never been wider and surprises don’t seem to happen as frequently as they used to even though most top sides usually opt to field fringe players in the earlier rounds of the competition.
Teams that catch the eye today are Vincent Kompany’s Burnley at struggling Bournemouth and Luton at home to a Wigan side who can’t buy a win.
Burnley‘s only defeat in eight was to Manchester Utd in the EFL Cup and Kompany will be keen to show that his side, who lead the Championship by five points, are more than capable of competing with Premier League sides. The Cherries would take a win but it’s three Premier League points they’re desperate for and that might be reflected in their line-up.
Wigan (15/4) go in to their match at Luton (3/4) off the back of four straight defeats in the Championship which sees them rooted to the bottom. They’ve also lost second top scorer Nathan Broadhead back to Everton and midfielder Graeme Shinnie to Aberdeen on loan so Kolo Toure doesn’t have his problems to seek. Luton are having a good season in the Championship and are sniffing around the play-off places. Although there’s been two many draw at Kenilworth Road they’ve only been beaten twice there.
It’s difficult to see where many upsets will come today. In-form Middlesbrough could make life difficult for visitors Brighton. Boro are heading in the right direction under Michael Carrick. Spurs lost there in the cup last season (and Boro won at Old Trafford) and the club have dropped ticket prices in attempt to fill the Riverside. At 9/2 they wouldn’t be the worst bet.
In Scotland it’s the bread and butter of the SPFL this weekend.
Celtic still hold a commanding 9-point lead at the top of the Premiership after a late equaliser at Ibrox on Monday and they welcome Kilmarnock to Celtic Park this afternoon.
The Hoops have been perfect at home and often get off to a quick start. It was no different against Rangers when they sped in to a 1-0 lead after 5 minutes. A goal inside the first 10 pays 11/4 today but a better bet is for either side to score before 2o minutes at 5/6.
Early corners are also usually profitable in Celtic games. Two or more in the first 10 minutes (both teams combined) at 9/4 always has a chance at Celtic Park.
In-form Hearts travel to Paisley to face St Mirren who boast the best home record outside the top two. The Buddies have taken 21 points form a possible 30 on home soil this season but the Jambos’ confidence will be sky-high after a 3-0 derby win over Hibs.
That made it 13 points won from their last four games and Robbie Neilson’s side are now five clear in third place with a game in hand. They’re quite clearly the best of the rest and 6/4 looks a very good price.
In the Championship both Arbroath and Inverness recorded surprising wins last weekend. Having lost 4-1 to Queen’s Park the match previously Arbroath bounced back to win 4-2 at top of the table Dundee. Similarly, Inverness had been thumped 5-1 by Partick Thistle only to follow that with a 6-0 hammering of Cove Rangers. They both meet today at Gayfield and despite a barrowload of goals in their games recently a 0-0 draw can’t be ruled out. Five of the last six meetings have been drawn, four of those have finished goalless and only 8 goals have been scored in the previous nine clashes. A 0-0 pays 8/1 whilst under 2.5 is 3/4.
Peterhead have won just once all season and failed to score in their last five. Visitors Airdrieonians are 8/13 to win at Balmoor Stadium where they’ve been victorious in four of their last five visits. Goals have been flying in in the Diamonds’ last few matches; 6-2, 1-1, 4-2 and 3-5 so we can expect a few more from them today.
Super Single
- Hearts to win 6/4 Bet365
FA Cup Bets
Scottish Bets
- 2 or more corners in first 10 minutes at Celtic v Kilmarnock 9/4 Bet365
- Airdrie win & Over 1.5 Airdrie goals 1/1 Bet365
Upcoming Match Previews Tips
- Goals Betting Tips: BTTS, To Score 2+, Over 2.5 Goals and 53/1 Acca Tips
- Scott Allot’s Euro Tips: Juve in the winning groove
- European BTTS Tips: Goals in Spain, Holland & Belgium
- Football Bet of the Day: Firhill the place for Thrills on Saturday
- SlipsTips Tips: Peterhead vs Airdrie
- Scottish Tips: Best Bets at Falkirk, Annan and Queens Park
- Sat 12:30 Gillingham vs Leicester City
- Sat 12:30 Tottenham Hotspur vs Portsmouth
- Sat 12:30 Crystal Palace vs Southampton
- Sat 15:00 Sheffield Wednesday vs Newcastle United
- Sat 15:00 Hull City vs Fulham
- Sat 15:00 Middlesbrough vs Brighton & Hove Albion
- Sat 15:00 Celtic vs Kilmarnock
- Sat 15:15 Villarreal vs Real Madrid
- Sat 17:00 Juventus vs Udinese
- Sat 17:30 Brentford vs West Ham United
- Sat 19:45 Monza vs Inter Milan
- Sat 20:00 Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Sun 13:30 Motherwell vs Hibernian
- Sun 14:30 Cardiff City vs Leeds United
- Sun 16:30 Manchester City vs Chelsea
Today’s Racing Tips
Cairnzy kept his excellent winning run going on Friday so his tips for Saturday will be worth a look…
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Saturday’s Top Tips: Back Hearts Not to Skip a Beat appeared first on MrFixitsTips.