FA CUP FIFTH ROUND: The Striker previews CRYSTAL PALACE v MILLWALL and MANCHESTER CITY v PLYMOUTH ARGYLE both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
CRYSTAL PALACE V MILLWALL
12.15pm The FA Cup Fifth Round continues on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE and we have a David v Goliath Saturday in store! The Premier League sides with home advantage will be fully expected to win, but we’ve already had some major shocks in the FA Cup this season – will we see some Magic of the Cup? There’s no doubt that Manchester City hosting Plymouth Argyle will be the main storyline this weekend after Plymouth knocked out Liverpool. However, we kick off the day early with Crystal Palace hosting Millwall. This is a game that Crystal Palace will be fully expected to win – Millwall are sitting in mid-table of the Championship this season, and we’re currently having a big debate on how to close the gap between the bottom of the Premier League and the top of the Championship! Last season and this season has really highlighted the gulf in class between the top two divisions with the three promoted sides going back down – it’s definitely a case of money talks with so much money in the Premier League these days. This is a massive task for Millwall with Crystal Palace in great form recently – they’ve been superb since they got over their slow start to the season.
As you would expect, Crystal Palace come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.36 with Millwall 12.0 and the draw is 5.2 at the time of writing. Crystal Palace have only lost three times in their last sixteen Premier League games which is a great record – the only minor negative being that the three losses came at home – one of those was against Arsenal however. It’s hard to see Millwall troubling an in-form Palace side looking at their under-lining numbers. Their average xG created of 1.26 which is towards the bottom of the Championship table – they have been keeping their games exceptionally tight this season though. They’ve only conceded a goal a game on average, and they could make Palace work a little harder than odds of 1.36 suggest. With Palace in such good form though, and no reason to rest any of their key players, it’s hard to see past a home win here. However, Under 2.5 goals looks a nice bet at 1.87. I expect Palace to have to grind out a win here rather than blowing Millwall away.
The Striker Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 1.87 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FACrMi
MANCHESTER CITY V PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
5.45pm We finish Saturday with a real David v Goliath clash as Manchester City host Plymouth Argyle. We have the shortest price of the Sixth Round here – Manchester City are trading as short as 1.09 with Plymouth Argyle 36.0 and the draw is 16.5 at the time of writing. I know Plymouth already shocked everyone when knocking out Liverpool in the last round, but they had home advantage that time – if they knocked City out here it would be the biggest shock in FA Cup history. Even allowing for the fact that City haven’t been themselves this season! With the Premier League title gone and already out of the Champions League, this is the last chance at a trophy this season for Pep Guardiola and his men. It’s tempting to rest some players here given the gulf in class, but with no European commitments I’d be surprised if Guardiola opted to rest a lot of his star players. Plymouth knocking out Liverpool really came from nowhere – they have the worst attacking figure in the Championship with an average xG created of just 1.07. Not only that, they have the worst defensive figure too with an average xG conceded of 1.71.
That is a very poor figure to bring to City away – I feel this is a case of how many goals will City score rather than will they win! The Liverpool win for Plymouth has obviously given them some confidence because they have picked up plenty of results in the Championship lately; they’ve given themselves at least a fighting chance at staying up now. That being said, the gulf in class here is massive – I spoke about the big gap between the Premier League and the Championship above. Obviously this is a game to look around the side markets for some value – the market is expecting goals with Over 3.5 goals trading odds on. It’s also expecting City to do most of the work in that regard because Both Teams To Score is odds against – it’s effectively 1.57 for a City clean sheet on Both Teams Not To Score. I feel City can run riot here, and Any Other Home Win (Man City to score four or more goals and win) is worth backing at 2.2 in the Correct Score market.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Any Other Home Win Correct Score at 2.2 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FAMaPl
