FA CUP QUARTER FINALS: The Striker previews Sunday’s three remaining quarter finals all with a recommended BETDAQ bet starting with Sheffield United v Blackburn at midday.
SHEFFIELD UNITED V BLACKBURN
12pm It’s a big Sunday afternoon in the FA Cup on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with three Quarter-Finals taking place! We have three odds on home favourites; could we see any “magic of the Cup” surprises here? We start the day early with an all Championship clash between Sheffield United and Blackburn – you have to say this is a brilliant chance for both clubs to get to Wembley and into a Semi-Final. Sheffield United have been sitting in second in the Championship for a while now, and although they have dropped a few points recently they still have a six point advantage. Burnley are a whopping 13 points ahead of Sheffield United, so they just have to focus on keeping that second position and getting into the Premier League. Blackburn are having a good season too, they started the weekend sitting in fifth place and although it’s very competitive around the Playoff places, they do have a five point gap to Norwich who are in seventh. You’d have to expect Blackburn to get a playoff spot. These two met very recently in the Championship – Blackburn had home advantage and grinded out a 1-0 win in a very tight game.
I have to say I was surprised to see Sheffield United trading as short as 1.69 when I clicked into the market here. I know they have home advantage, but they do have a few injuries and Blackburn have been playing rock solid football lately. Both clubs got past Premier League opposition in the last round, and I have to say it’s hard to get past the Sheffield United lay here. I just fully expect a closer game than the odds suggest, and I’m happy with a Sheffield United lay from a value point of view. Way back in August, Sheffield United did hammer Blackburn 3-0 with home advantage but that was at a time when Blackburn weren’t playing good football. They have improved a lot since, and they have a decent chance of getting a result here in my opinion. On the stats, Sheffield United are the better side but I can’t have them as short as 1.69.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Sheffield United to beat Blackburn at 1.69 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SheBla
BRIGHTON V GRIMSBY TOWN
2.15pm We have the shortest price of the weekend here as Brighton host Grimsby Town! The home side are trading as short as 1.14 at the time of writing, and it’s fair to say the market is confident. Grimsby Town getting to the Quarter-Finals is a fairytale for the League Two side. They managed to beat Southampton in the Fifth Round away from home which was an incredible result – I know Southampton are having a poor season in the Premier League, but that was still a surprise result given the gulf in class between the sides. Grimsby are sitting in 15th in League Two, and while it’s hard to fully judge the difference between their level and the Brighton level because we don’t get xG data from League Two – there is a huge gulf in class between the sides here. Anything bar a Brighton win would be one of the biggest shocks in the FA Cup in my opinion! With Brighton trading so short in the match odds market, we’re going to have to look around the side markets for some value here.
I feel this is a case of how many goals can Brighton score rather than will they win, so thoughts go straight to the goal and handicap markets. Grimsby have been conceding more goals than they have been scoring in League Two, so I don’t see them being much of a threat up front. That being said, surely they will view this fixture as having nothing to lose and really go for it. I hope that’s what they do anyway, it would be a shame to sit back and lose 3-0 because you’ve never really attempted to pull off a famous win! The market is expecting goals with Over 2.5 goals trading as short as 1.3, and I feel Brighton will have to do most of the work for that bet to win. I prefer Brighton to cover the 2.5 goal handicap at 1.9 which looks a nice value bet here.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Brighton -2.5 goals to beat Grimsby Town at 1.9 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BriGri
MANCHESTER UNITED V FULHAM
4.30pm We finish the Quarter-Finals with an all Premier League clash as Manchester United host Fulham. After getting a man sent off early last weekend and only managing a 0-0 draw at home to Southampton, United got into the Europa League Quarter-Final on Thursday night. They got drawn against another Spanish club Sevilla in that, and they will really fancy their chances of getting through with Sevilla having such a poor season in La Liga. Erik ten Hag has said he wants to win every game and competition, so we can expect a strong United line-up here. Fulham are having an excellent season – they started the weekend sitting in ninth and although they have been higher, they have been massively over-performing this season. Anyone who is a fan of xG figures would have said they will slip down the table as the season goes on, and that is what is happening now. For example they are conceding an average xG of 1.9 this season, but their actual goals conceded only works out at 1.4. That’s a huge difference, and a lot of points gained. Their attacking xG has dropped back in line with their actual goals scored, which is an average of 1.4. United come into this game in a great place, and they will be a popular bet at 1.48.
The sides met in the Premier League just before the break for the World Cup. And we saw a very entertaining game with United winning 2-1 in the end. Fulham had home advantage, and to be honest the game was so end-to-end we could have easily had seven goals. Fulham finished with an xG of 2.0 and United 3.33. There’s no getting away from the fact that United have been playing very well under ten Hag. They are playing with confidence, and he has them believing that they can win from anywhere again. Apart from the 7-0 blowout at Anfield, nothing much has gone wrong for United really. It’s hard to get away from the home win at 1.48 here – we know we’re going to get a strong side, and Fulham have been pretty average away from home recently. I know they beat Brighton, but that was exceptionally lucky because they conceded an xG of 2.77 in a 1-0 win. They were lucky to pick up a 0-0 draw at Chelsea recently as well, and with home advantage United can get the job done here. I felt they’d be a little shorter than 1.48, and it’s worth backing to finish a great weekend.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Manchester United to beat Fulham at 1.48 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ManFul
