Football Betting Previews

FA Cup Fifth Round Preview by Matthew Chapple (14-15 February 2009) (Thursday, February 12, 2009)

FA Cup Previews 14th / 15th February 2009 Everton V Aston Villa Sunday 14:30 The FA Cup makes yet another appearance this weekend and what a tie the draw has thrown up here with Aston Villa doing all the travelling as they visit Merseyside to take on Everton at Goodison Park. With the exception of current league leaders Manchester United. These two are in the Premiership's in-form sides and it would take a brave punter to try and separate the two and highlight a possible winner. Everton didn't get out of the blocks and made a stuttering start to their 2008-2009 season. The loss of Yakubu early on was a huge blow for David Moyes and Everton but you wouldn't of noticed his absence in recent weeks with Everton, some would say, over achieving right now. They were without a recognised front man for some time but were still chipping in with some positive results. Their two draws and one win over Liverpool in the space of just over a week showed just how resilient Everton are and we fancy 'The Toffees' to put in yet another spirited performance. It was very pleasing to see Moyes giving some of the younger players, within his small squad, the chance to show themselves. Both Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling made appearances in their last round clash with Liverpool at Goodison with the latter eventually scoring the winner in a rather bizarre fashion. They have also been joined by their new Brazilian signing with Man City's Jo joining on loan until the end of the season. Jo failed to nail down a starting place in Mark Hughes squad but with Jo scoring twice on his Everton debut. It would appear he is already a firm favourite with David Moyes. Instead of compiling a list of all the positives in regards to Aston Villa right now. We will simply set a challenge down to everyone who thinks they can find something negative to say about them right now. Eight wins from their last ten league fixtures, unbeaten in thirteen matches in the Premiership and have now gone above Chelsea into third position in the league table. It would be safe to say that not many would have predicted that Villa would be doing as well as they currently are but this run of superb results is fully deserved. Aston Villa set a club record on Saturday by winning their seventh consecutive away league match, beating Blackburn in a comfortable manner winning 2-0 at Ewood Park. That was their tenth away win this season and with Villa only losing three of their thirteen away fixtures this season, you would think Martin O'Neill and his team stand a very good chance of progression into the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup. They have had fairly easy opposition up until now so this will be their first real test. Match odds - Everton 6/4 Boylesports Draw 23/10 Boylesports Aston Villa 2/1 Bet365 Prediction - Draw Derby County V Manchester United Sunday 16:30 Round three of the Derby County V Manchester United trilogy. It is currently 1-1 after both sides won at home in their two legged Carling Cup tie but with Manchester United out scoring Derby to book a place in the final. Derby will be out for revenge but may once again have to settle for another respectable scoreline with United simply looking to good on paper not to back going into this fairly generous fifth round tie. The Nigel Clough factor appears to working magic at Derby. With Paul Jewell resigning, Nigel Clough has took over the reigns of the Rams and has already guided them to very respectable victories in the Championship. His first came at Pride Park where they narrowly managed to see of Coventry City winning 2-1. His second came straight after with the Rams equalling their best league result this season winning 3-0 down at Plymouth. They have now notched up back-to-back league wins and will be looking to continue their good run of results. Derby's recent form will come as a relief to the the chairman who was starting to forget what a league victory actually felt like. Before their two recent success, they had only managed to win one of their previous eleven league fixtures. A poor run of results which included eight defeats. Unsurprisingly, Derby are in the bottom half of the table and where it not for those two wins, they might be sat in the drop zone as we speak. Many at Derby will prioritise the league and despite the magic of the cup, we can't see past an away win today. Everything is going right for Manchester United right now. They are still in every domestic competition, their champions league tie with Inter Milan is just over the horizon while they have a comfortable lead at the top of the Premiership. What more could the Scotsman in chrage want? Possibly not an away tie with Derby County. A fixture they have already lost once this season. It would be an under statement to say that United are doing well at the moment but despite 'The Red Devils' notching up some very positive results. They have still failed to impress me. They secured their eighth consecutive league win at the weekend beating West Ham United 1-0 at Upton Park. That was however their ninth 1-0 victory in the league this season whilst it was their fifth away 1-0 score, So United are still failing to impose themselves. As long as United are picking up the right results, no one will dare criticise them but Fergie surely can't be totally happy with what he is seeing on the pitch in recent weeks? The wins are always pleasing to every football manager but United still show an air of vulnerability about them. Mainly due to their reluctance to put the ball in the back of the net. With the exception of their thumping of West Brom, United have yet to score more then one goal away from home. A surprising statistic you don't normally associate with a side like Manchester United. Match odds - Derby County 10/1 Skybet Draw 7/2 Boylesports Manchester United 2/5 Stanjames Prediction - Manchester United Watford V Chelsea Saturday 17:30 Chelsea were handed yet another generous draw but unlike all their other ties, this one will be played away from Stamford Bridge. A sigh of relief will sound out around London as Chelsea have been very disappointing at home this season. A lot has happened at Chelsea within the last few weeks and a defeat at Vicarage Road this Saturday would be a drastic result for the club. Watford also have their issues and we're sure they will appreciate the break from Championship action. Watford manager Brendan Rogers really does have a very tough task on his hands at Vicarage Road. Watford were once battling for their Premiership status not so long ago but they now have a fight on their hands just to stay in the Championship. They currently occupy the last relegation spot and look decent value for the drop with their recent form not good. Watford have only managed to win eight league games this season and with that in mind, it comes as no surprise that they are struggling. They have however notched up seven of those eight wins at home so they will be thankful that the draw presented them with a home tie although they won't be too pleased with receiving Chelsea. They have won just one of their last seven league fixtures but that was at home to an in form Burnley. One of their better performance came against Burnley in that match and they will need to improve on that if they are to give Chelsea a real game. What a turbulent few weeks it has been for Chelsea. Results haven't gone their way since Christmas with defeats at both Old Trafford and Anfield. Their draw at home with Hill City have now left them seven points behind league leaders Manchester United and left United with a game in hand. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will feel he had no other option but to send Phil Scolari on his way but the blues are now manager-less for this crucial FA Cup fixture. Steve Clarke will take over on a temporary basis and this is a good chance for him to stake a claim for the vacant managerial position. He couldn't of asked for a better first game, with Chelsea possessing a decent away record this term. Chelsea's away from this season stands at 8-2-2 which does look impressive at first glance but Chelsea haven't won on the road in their last four league visits with their last away win coming at Southend in the FA Cup. They do posses a strong away goalscoring record of 23-8 and with Watford in the mist, you would fancy Chelsea to book their place in the next round despite all the off-pitch drama. Match odds - Watford 10/1 Skybet Draw 4/1 VC Bet Chelsea 4/11 Ladbrokes Prediction - Chelsea Sheffield United V Hull City Saturday 15:00 A match that really could go either way here as Phil Brown takes his Hull side to Hillsborough this weekend with Sheffield United waiting to pounce on Hull's poor run of league results. Sheffield themselves have hardly been firing on all cylinders recently so both sides will see this as a match they really could win. Bramall Lane is the venue in what we hope is a lively affair. Sheffield United will appreciate the fact that they have been granted a home tie but their recent home form is far from impressive. Manager Kevin Blackwell has seen his side lose two straight home fixtures with defeats to Doncaster and Sheffield Wednesday. The latter will be a result that will remain on both the players and fans minds for some time as no one likes to lose a derby. None more so then the Sheffield pair. Sheffield United have had an inconsistent season but they still occupy one of the play-off spots so they are roughly where they wanted to be before the season kicked off. Their home record of 7-4-5 will hardly strike fear into their opponents eyes but with the Sheffield faithful behind them, they should go close. They will be desperate to make up for their weekend defeat to local rivals Sheffield Wednesday and a win over Hull this Saturday would go some way to putting that right. Phil Brown is another manager that will enjoy his mini break away from life in the Premiership. His side have struggled in recent weeks so the pressure of attaining a good league results will disappear for this week at least. Hull are without a league win nine matches and are just four behind Middlesborough who haven't won in thirteen league matches. Their draw at home to West Brom was a disappointing result as it was certainly a match they could and really ought to have won. Hull's win less run does include some very poor away results with the 'Tigers' losing three of their previous four away fixtures. Albeit that they were against some very good Premiership sides but those poor results will only knock their confidence. Hull have also failed to score in any of their previous away league fixtures so goals as well as points are starting to dry up at Hull. Were they to rekindle their early league form which seen them reach fourth in the Premiership table, they would push Sheffield close but Hull have shown very little recently. Match Odds - Sheffield United 13/8 Skybet Draw 23/10 Bet365 Hull City 7/4 Bet365 Prediction -Sheffield United Swansea City V Fulham Saturday 12:45 The Cottagers make the lengthy trip to Wales this weekend as they prepare to face Swansea City at The Liberty Stadium. Fulham are notorious for having a poor away record but they have already won twice away from home in this competition so they have every chance of completing a hat-trick this Saturday. Swansea will be having other ideas though and we expect them put up a fight for their right to go into the draw for the Quarter-finals. Swansea manager Roberto Martinez has done a tremendous job at the club this season and their comfortable 3-0 win over Ipswich on Saturday lifted them up into 7th position. They are now just two points away from breaking into the play-off spots and their recent results would indicate that they are on the verge of doing just that. Since Christmas they have won four of their five league fixtures and emphatically dumped Portsmouth out of the FA Cup at Fratton Park so the confidence is obviously at an all time high right now. Swansea have lost just once at home this season and that came back in November when they lost 3-2 to Birmingham City. Since then they have gone unbeaten and haven't lost in thirteen league fixtures, home and away. Unfortunately, that run does include an awful lot of draws with just four of those games being wins. They do have an impressive home goalscoring record of 31-15 though so Swansea merit a lot of respect going into Saturdays tie. Fulham have also enjoyed their season and have finally broke into the top ten after weeks of trying. Many fancied them to go down but they have proved us all wrong and look safe for the time being. They are only seven points above the drop zone though so they cannot afford to get complacent. Roy Hodgeson will be there to ensure that his sides performance levels don't drop. Fulham still have that away voodoo hanging over them with regards to the league. They have failed to win any of their twelve away fixtures in the league and have shown very little in their recent away games to show that their away burden will be lifted. In this competition though they have already won twice away from craven Cottage beating both Sheffield Wednesday and Kettering Town. Both were inferior sides and Swansea are no different. Despite Fulham's poor away league form, we still fancy them to make it three straight away wins in the FA Cup this Saturday. Match odds - Swansea City 13/8 Skybet Draw 12/5 Boylesports Fulham 15/8 Boylesports Prediction - Fulham Labels: FA Cup, FA Cup Betting, FA Cup fifth round, FA Cup preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 8:21 AM << Home