FA Cup Football Betting
The F.A.Cup 3rd round is one of my favourite weekends of the football
season when the smaller clubs have a chance to take on the giants of the
Premier league.
The game I am going to get involved with today however is the clash
between Aston Villa and Manchester United, two of the leagues big clubs.
Aston Villa under Martin O`Neill are having a great season and sit 7th in
the league, 3 points off a Champions league place. At Villa park this
season they have won 6 drawn 1 and lost 4 scoring 16 and conceding 14
which on first reading may not look too great but three of defeats have
come against top 5 sides in the shape of Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool
and in the Arsenal and Liverpool games in particular they were unlucky not
to get something from those games, also as an Arsenal fan I can honestly
say their second half performance against the gunners was the best by any
side we have faced this season.
The other home lose came in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Portsmouth who
are becoming away day specialists in the league this season.
Form wise they have won 2 drawn 3 and lost 1 of their last 6 scoring 11
and conceding 11 and as the season has gone on they have looked like a
team who are starting to believe in themselves.
Villa’s opponents tonight Manchester United sit 2nd in the league 2 points
of top spot and have played some great football this season though their
last home game against Birmingham showed that their free flowing style
can be stifled.
On the road in the league this season they have won 5 drawn 2 lost 3
scored 15 and conceded 8, and form wise over the last 6 they have won 5
and lost 1 , the defeat coming at West Ham.
Head to head definitely favours Manchester United today as in the last 10
games Villa have won none and indeed you have to go back 20 games and 9
years for Villa’s last win against Manchester United a League Cup tie
which they won 3-0.
Oct 20, 07 Premiership Aston Villa FC 1 - 4 Manchester United
Jan 13, 07 Premiership Manchester United 3 - 1 Aston Villa FC
Jan 7, 07 FA Cup Manchester United 2 - 1 Aston Villa FC
Dec 23, 06 Premiership Aston Villa FC 0 - 3 Manchester United
Dec 17, 05 Premiership Aston Villa FC 0 - 2 Manchester United
Aug 20, 05 Premiership Manchester United 1 - 0 Aston Villa FC
Jan 22, 05 Premiership Manchester United 3 - 1 Aston Villa FC
Dec 28, 04 Premiership Aston Villa FC 0 - 1 Manchester United
May 15, 04 Premiership Aston Villa FC 0 - 2 Manchester United
Dec 6, 03 Premiership Manchester United 4 - 0 Aston Villa FC
Team news will be vital to this match though from first indications both
sides will be taking strong squads to the game and it may be worth waiting
till nearer kick off before placing a bet.
Early team news is that Aston Villa striker John Carew is an injury
doubt with a knee injury. Shaun Maloney could push for a starting place
after Luke Moore spurned two golden chances against Spurs.
Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar returns after recovering from a
groin injury, while Wayne Rooney is in the squad following a virus.
Striker Carlos Tevez is doubtful with an ankle injury, while defender Wes
Brown, linked with a January move to Newcastle, is in the squad.
This to me is a fascinating tie and I have been impressed with Villa
lately, on the opposite side of the coin Sir Alex will want a performance
from his side after two below par performances over the Christmas period.
Taking all this into account I am having 2 bets today, firstly Villa to
win at 7/2 on the outright market, this to me is value given the fact that
this competition is Villa’s only hope of silverware this season and for a
team who historically have a good cup record they have gone out 5 of the
last 6 years in the 3rd round and will be eager to change that pattern,
also United have there eyes on larger prizes and they would readily admit
though the cup is important it is 3rd in their wish list of trophies come
the end of May.
The second bet I will have is Villa 21/20 with Bet365 with a +0.5 start on
the Asian Handicap market this would cover me in the event of a draw.
So hopefully Villa will do the business, as I said earlier I am an Arsenal
fan so would prefer Manchester United to stay in the competition so as to
play more games and hopefully tire a few of their payers even more! But
with my professional punters head on I see the value in Villa tonight and
hope they can break that 20 game losing cycle against Man Utd.
Good luck as ever,
Silverfox.
