Sports Blog 13/02/2015: Match Preview – FA Cup 5th Round, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th February 2015

Neutrals can hope for some more cup magic this weekend, and despite the deluge of big teams exiting at the 4th round of the FA Cup a few weeks ago, the 5th round still has plenty of opportunities for some giant-killings.

First up at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1 is the battle of the Wests, as Brom host Ham at The Hawthorns. West Ham, despite having lost some of the spark they had in 2014, are still sitting in 8th in the league. They have only failed to score in 3 away games this season, whilst only losing 3 out of their last 16 games. Draws against both Manchester United and Southampton in their last 2 games shows they can hold their own with the big boys, being especially unlucky to not get all 3 points against United.



West Brom are currently sitting in 14th in the league, and have seen an upturn since the arrival of Tony Pulis. They will be reliant on Saido Berahino with 15 goals, Victor Anichebe with 4 goals and Brown Ideye on 4 goals to make the different. The Hammers will be looking to Diafra Sakho and Stewart Downing to get some goals whilst crossing their fingers that Andy Carroll can overcome his injury. Despite the difference in form, our clients think the home crowd can boost Tony Pulis’ side, at a West Brom/West Ham Goal Supremacy spread betting quote 0.1-0.3 with a Total Goals quote of 2.5-2.7.

The evening game on Saturday is another all-Premier League affair, with Liverpool visiting Crystal Palace at 5.30pm on BT Sport 1. Despite still sitting in 13th, Palace have seemed genuinely rejuvenated by the appointment of Alan Pardew in 2015, and have beaten both Tottenham and Southampton in their last 6 games, the latter victory seeing the Saints crash out of the cup. And interestingly, Liverpool haven’t beaten Palace at Selhurst Park in their last 6 encounters, a fact Palace will be holding close to their hearts ahead of Saturday’s game. Dwight Gayle on 10 goals is at 6/1, whilst Frazier Campbell is at 15/2, the same odds as gangly Arsenal-loanee Yaya Sanogo.



Yet Liverpool are in excellent form at the moment, and will feel aggrieved to still be sitting in 7th. They have only lost once in 21 games, and had a tight, resilient win over Tottenham in midweek that finally saw Mario Balotelli’s first league goal for the Reds. Even more important is the return of Daniel Sturridge; if he can hit his form before the end of the season, then Liverpool can make a real push for a top four finish. Sturridge is favourite to score first at 9/2, whilst Raheem Sterling is close behind at 11/2 with 9 goals, with top scorer Steven Gerrard at 8/1 with 10 goals. Even though Selhurst Park has become Liverpool’s bogey ground, their current form seems them at a Liverpool/Crystal Palace (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.35-0.55 with a Total Goals spread of 2.5-2.7.

Sunday’s first game then sees a rare moment of respite from this season’s relegation battle for Aston Villa and Leicester City, at 12.30pm on BBC One. The dismal performance of Villa this season, with staggeringly only 12 goals in 25 league games, finally saw Paul Lambert sacked on Wednesday, with former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood favourite to take over. Villa’s 5 league losses in a row were only interrupted by a 4th round FA Cup victory against Bournemouth, and they will need a more spirted performance than they have displayed recently if they want to continue in the cup.



If things are bad for Aston Villa, things are a lot worse for Leicester, who are sitting in 20th with an awful 17 points, 5 adrift from Villa in 18th. These league woes have been compounded by the actions of manager Nigel Pearson, who barely clung onto his job after it appeared he choked James McArthur on the touchlines against Arsenal. Pearson maintained it was a joke, but regardless it has distracted Leicester from their preparations for this weekend. However, unlike Villa, there have been some genuine bright spots in the last few weeks. Firstly, Leicester actually beat Aston Villa in January, whilst they managed to knock out Tottenham in the last round of the cup. January signing Andrej Kramaric managed to score in their midweek defeat against Arsenal, and after getting 21 goals in 18 games for his former club Rijeka this season, Leicester will be pinning their hopes of the Croatian. Sadly for the Foxes this week’s issues seem to have been too much for our clients, who fancy Villa at an Aston Villa/Leicester Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0-0.2.

Finally Sunday’s evening game sees top of the Championship Middlesbrough take on Arsenal at the Emirates at 4pm on BT Sport 1. Middlesbrough have won their last 6 games on the trot, impressively beating Manchester City AND keeping a clean sheet in the process to set up this tie against the Gunners. Boro’s strike force of Grant Leadbitter (12 goals at 14/1), Patrick Bamford (11 goals at 12/1) and Kike (8 goals at 12/1) will need to work hard on Sunday to get a result, but if a team is going to make a defensive slip against a smaller side, it’s going to be Arsenal.



The Gunners’ were bitterly disappointed last weekend as a last minute goal from the ever-ascendant Harry Kane saw them lose the latest North London derby. However, a scrappy win against Leicester midweek combined with Tottenham’s loss to Liverpool saw them one again leapfrog Spurs to sit in 5th. Arsenal have a rich history in the FA Cup, and after finally winning it again last season Arsene Wenger will be desperate to secure a chance at lifting the cup once more, especially since it is feasibly the only silverware Arsenal can pick up this season. The absence of Ramsey is countered by the return of Wilshere and Sanchez (10/3 to score first with 18 goals), and with Giroud (8 goals at 7/2), Cazorla (7 goals at 7/1), Welbeck (7 goals at 5/1) and an in-form Ozil to pick from, Arsenal will fancy their chances. Our clients agree, and here at Spreadex we have seen plenty of money on an Arsenal/Middlesbrough Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 1.2-1.4 with a Total Goals spread of 2.8-3.