Sports Blog 16/03/2015: Match Preview – Premier League/FA Cup, Monday 16th March 2015

Monday night sees key ties in both the Premier League and the FA Cup, with Liverpool attempting to keep up their top four chase in the former whilst Reading and Bradford duke it out for a semi-final spot in the latter.

FA Cup
First up is the battle between the two lower league sides, as Bradford attempt to continue their astonishing FA Cup run in a quarter-final replay at Reading at 7.45pm on BBC One. The winner of this fixture faces the imposing task of taking on in-form current cup holders Arsenal at Wembley in mid-April. The only all non-Premier League tie of the quarter finals resulted in a 0-0 draw, with staggeringly only one shot on target between the two teams. Unsurprisingly given that state, neither side has been in great form of late. The home side suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday, leaving them languishing in 17th and far, far off any league glory this season.



Bradford, meanwhile, are 9th in League One and are lingering on the edge of a play-off spot. However a recent string of draws has seen valuable points dropped and a tough mountain to climb if they want to maintain a push for promotion. Yet despite shaky league form, the Bantams have been the biggest surprise in the cup this season, and it would be a magical cap to the run by reaching the semi-final; the players will know this, and oddly despite on paper being the underdogs Bradford will go into the replay with the weightier expectations on their shoulders.



Reading may employ former Fulham defender Zat Knight, signed on Thursday as a free agent, to bolster their back four, and will need Pavel Pogrebnyak (9/2 to score first with 4 goals), Nick Blackman (5 goals at 11/2) and Jamie Mackie (5 goals at 6/1) to rediscover their goal-scoring form if they Royals are to progress. Bradford, keen to re-capture the 4 goals they put past Chelsea, will be reliant on Billy Clarke, James Hanson and Jon Stead, all at 9/1 to score first after solid displays all season. Despite their giant-killing form against Chelsea and Sunderland, our clients and traders alike seem to feel the Bantams may finally come unstuck, giving the edge to the home team with a Reading/Bradford Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.65-0.85. And given the struggles in front of goal in the first attempt at this tie, our Spreadex traders are offering a low Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5.

Premier League
Whilst cup devotees will have their eye on the replay, come 8pm on Sky Sports 1 anyone following the increasingly tight race for a spot in the Champions League will be watching Liverpool’s trip to Swansea closely. The Reds will use up their game in hand tonight, and sitting on 51 points in 5th behind Man United in 4th on 56, Arsenal in 3rd on 57 and Man City on 58 in 2nd tonight’s game in Wales is a must win for Brendan Rogers. It’s not just those above Liverpool have to be wary above; chasing that Europa League spot are Southampton and Tottenham, both on 50 points and breathing down the neck of Anfield’s finest. Yet Liverpool will have confidence they can grind out a win tonight if needs be; they are unbeaten in 12 league games, including 9 wins in their last 11. On top of this, Steven Gerrard, out for the past 7 games, could make an appearance tonight and is 17/2 to score first on 10 goals.



Swansea, on the other hand, have very little left in this season’s league race beyond pride, as they sit in 9th, 10 points adrift of 7th place Tottenham. However, the Swans will not go down without a fight, as found out by both Manchester United and Southampton back in February. Their current league position downplays the fact that the Welsh side have become a solid fixture in the top flight’s upper half, and Garry Monk will be eager to banish the memories of the two defeats his side have suffered this season at the hands of Rogers’ men. They will be boosted by the return of Bafetimbi Gomis, 7/1 to score first on 5 goals, who has been given the all clear to play despite collapsing against Tottenham a week and a half ago. He is joined by Gylfi Sigurdsson at 9/1 on 7 goals and Ki Sung-yueng on 6 goals at 33/1.

Given the importance of a win tonight, and their current impressive domestic form, Liverpool have been given a very narrow edge ahead of the game at a Liverpool/Swansea (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.4-0.6, alongside a Total Goals quote of 2.45-2.65. And interestingly, with Swansea earning the fewest corners per game in the Premier League, Spreadex are offering a Corners spread betting quote of 9.8-10.3.