Sports Blog 11/03/2016: Match Preview – FA Cup Quarter-Finals Preview, Friday 11th to Sunday 13th March 2016

A solitary non-top flight side remains in the FA Cup this season, with things heating up this weekend as 8 are whittled down to 4 in the competition’s quarter-finals!

Aiming to keep a fairytale-run alive on Friday night Reading host Crystal Palace at 7.55pm on BBC One. Whilst they may be lingering in mid-table no man’s land in the Championship, Reading have been rather effusive in the FA Cup, scoring 14 and conceding 5. That run included the Royal’s toughest test of the season, hosting a sturdy West Brom in the 5th round; however Reading went on to win 3-1, setting up their quarter-final match against Crystal Palace in style. And though Reading haven’t sufficiently replaced the departed (not dead, at Derby) Nick Blackman, Matej Vydra has risen to the challenge in the cup, at least, scoring 6 goals in 4 game to leave him with a Super Mega PGM of 20-24.



Much like Reading, Crystal Palace are using the FA Cup to compensate for an otherwise dismal domestic season. Palace have plunged all the way to 15th place, the London club only escaping relegation candidacy thanks to the combined combustion of Sunderland, Norwich, Newcastle and Aston Villa. Yet Palace actually have a far worse record than those sides; they are the only Premier League team to be winless in 2016, losing 8 and drawing 2 since the New Year began. However, in the FA Cup they have looked like a different side, beating Southampton, Stoke and, most notably, Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. Luckily for Pardew it looks like this run should continue, Spreadex offering a Crystal Palace/Reading (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.2-0.4 with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Saturday’s lone FA Cup tie is a doozy, an inconsistent Everton hosting a Champion League-exited Chelsea at 5.30pm on BBC One. Despite having scored 51 goals in the league this season (the joint second best with Tottenham, only behind City and Leicester and 5 more than Arsenal) the Toffees still find themselves languishing in 12th place. In the FA Cup they have looked stronger, however, even if they haven’t exactly been tested, beating Dagenham & Redbridge, Carlisle and Bournemouth with 8 scored and none conceded. With 23 goals in all competitions Romelu Lukaku remains Everton’s leading light, the Belgian forward heading into Saturday at a Super Mega PGM of 38-44.



Hot on the heels of their 2-1 home defeat to PSG (leaving the score at 4-2 on aggregate) Chelsea will be looking to bounce back in the one competition they can actually still win this season. Despite that European exit Guus Hiddink still has an enviable record since he took charge, with only 2 losses, 7 draws and 9 wins. In the FA Cup Chelsea have been at their best, a rote 2-0 win over Scunthorpe followed by 5-1 wins over Milton Keynes Dons and (an admittedly 5th string) Manchester City. And whilst they may have lost, Diego Costa’s Champions League strike on Wednesday continued rehabilitation under Hiddink, the Spaniard now totalling 15 goals with a Super Mega PGM of 28-34. However, our Spreadex traders think that European loss may have a lingering effect, offering an Everton/Chelsea Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 with a Total Goals spread of 2.75-2.95.

Sunday then arguably provides the real meat of the FA Cup quarter-finals; first up sees current champions Arsenal host Watford at 1.30pm on BT Sport 2. Ending a 5 game winless streak, Arsenal romped in the next round with a 4-0 away win over Hull in their mid-week replay, braces from new dad Olivier Giroud (at a Super Mega PGM of 46-53) and Theo Walcott (at 30-36) giving the Gunners the victory. Yet that win arguably came at a cost, namely a knock to Aaron Ramsey that adds to Arsene Wenger’s injury woes. With their league form flagging Wenger will be desperate for a win this Sunday, as he tries claim his third consecutive FA Cup title, a feat not manged since Blackburn way back in the late 1800s.



Watford, meanwhile, are having issues of their own. The fantastic form seen before Christmas has dissipated somewhat since the start of the year, with only 2 league wins in 8 games, leaving them back in the bottom half of the table. And whilst they have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals their form in the competition has been less than inspiring, beating Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Leeds with 1-0 victories, the latter 2 thanks to an 88th minute strike and an own goal respectively. In other words, the Gunners shouldn’t have too much to worry about at the weekend, Spreadex offering an Arsenal/Watford Goal Supremacy spread of0.95-1.15 with a Total Goals spread of 2.75-2.95.

Finally Sunday afternoon brings with it arguably the pick of the draw as the 5th-place battling Manchester United and West Ham meet at 4pm at BT Sport 2. Leapfrogging their weekend opponents in the league with a remarkable comeback against Everton, Slaven Bilic’s side now sit in 5th place on 49 points, only 1 behind City (who have a game in hand) and 2 above United. They’ve looked just as impressive in the cup, with an extra-time victory over Liverpool and a rampant 5-1 win over Blackburn in the 4th and 5th rounds respectively the highlights. Dimitri Payet, meanwhile, continues to stake his claim as one of the signings of the season, his 90th minute at Goodison Park leaving him with 10 goals all competitions.



Manchester United, on the other hand, are in the midst of yet another tricky spot. A dismal 2-0 loss in the Europa League against Liverpool followed a 1-0 domestic loss to West Brom at the weekend, damaging United’s momentum just as Louis van Gaal’s side had built up momentum with wins over Arsenal and Watford. Things have been less complicated (just about) in the FA Cup, an injury time win over Sheffield United followed by vigorous victories over Derby and Shrewsbury Town. Despite their mixed form at the moment our traders still think United just about have the edge, offering a Manchester United/West Ham Goal Supremacy spread of 0.45-0.65 with a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.

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