FA CUP SEMI-FINAL SATURDAY: The Striker previews MANCHESTER CITY v SOUTHAMPTON with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MANCHESTER CITY V SOUTHAMPTON
5.15pm The FA Cup Semi-Finals arrive this weekend on Betdaq Betting Exchange! We kick off the action at Wembley on Saturday evening as Manchester City face Southampton. It’s fair to say most football fans will be expecting a comfortably Manchester City win here; this isn’t far away from a David v Goliath FA Cup game given the gulf in class between the sides. It’s no surprise that Pep Guardiola’s side come into the game as the red-hot favourites. City are trading as short as 1.24 with Southampton 14.0 and the draw is 8.0 at the time of writing.
Manchester City are absolutely flying at the moment. They beat Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor on Wednesday night to go top of the Premier League for the first time since August. The only surprise being that it was only one Erling Haaland goal to give them the victory and not more. Pep Guardiola’s side are chasing another domestic treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup – they already lifted the latter at Wembley against Arsenal earlier in the season. And obviously they dealt Arsenal a hammer blow in the title race last weekend too. With the way City have been finishing the season, it’s hard to see past them here – it would be one of the shock of the season if Southampton won.
Southampton’s journey to Wembley has brought plenty of joy to their fans – badly need after they were relegated from the Premier League last season with just 12 points, and started this Championship campaign in similar disarray! Tonda Eckert was appointed initially as interim and then permanently in December, and he has been wonderful in fairness. They have already produced one of the shocks of the FA Cup this season knocking out Arsenal in the Quarter-Finals. They are fourth in the Championship; have a decent chance at automatic promotion but obviously in a good place for the playoffs. Their average xG created of 1.64 is the fourth best attacking figure in the Championship, and their average xG conceded of 1.33 is reasonably good too.
While there are a lot of positives with Southampton this season – and clearly morale under this manger is fantastic – the reality is City are a different beast. And as I said above, they are finishing the season so strongly too. Their average xG created of 1.79 is now the best attacking figure in the Premier League, and their average xG conceded of 1.12 is the second best defensive figure. Obviously it could all still go wrong, but once again it feels like they have timed their run perfectly under Guardiola. City’s record against lower league opposition in the FA Cup has been utterly dominant; I can’t see past a City win here, but we all know there’s no prizes for tipping 1.24 shots so we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value.
The market is expecting goals with Over 2.5 goals trading 1.45, but it’s also expecting City to do most of the work there because Both Teams To Score is 2.1. Another option here is City to cover the handicap; but 1.6 on -1.5 goals doesn’t exactly jump off the page. Southampton have created enough in the Championship this season to suggest that they can cover at some stage, and they did manage to score twice against Arsenal. I’m happy with a small bet on BTTS.
The Striker Says:
One point win Both Teams To Score at 2.1 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FAMcSo
