FA CUP FIFTH ROUND: The Striker previews Wednesday’s games between LUTON TOWN v CHELSEA, SOUTHAMPTON v WEST HAM and LIVERPOOL v NORWICH all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
LUTON TOWN V CHELSEA
7.15pm We have another busy night in the FA Cup on Wednesday with three fixtures to enjoy on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We have two heavy favourites tonight with Chelsea and Liverpool in action, as well as a very open market between Southampton and West Ham. We kick the night off with Luton Town hosting Chelsea, and the home side will be hoping Chelsea are still down in the dumps after losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday. It was a very even game with Chelsea losing 11-10 on penalties with the goalkeeper missing. Obviously there was a heated debate about the goalkeeper coming on just for the penalty shootout, but I was on the side of Jamie Carragher in the Sky Sports studio – Tuchel made a decision that had worked before and it’s just one of those things – everyone can miss a penalty. It’s very “old school” to thing players can’t just come off the bench for a penalty shootout now. Nevertheless, Chelsea will have to dust themselves off and go again in another Cup here and they won’t have been unhappy with the draw. They should beat Luton.
Although I feel that Chelsea should win here, I don’t think it will be easy. Luton are having a cracking season in the Championship. They currently sit in 6th position and are battling for the Playoffs. They will be battle hard given how competitive the Championship is for those Playoff spots, but it’s hard to see them having enough class to deal with a side like Chelsea. Luton are a side who like to grind out results rather than do anything flashy – you can see that by looking at their stats this season. They have been very solid at the back though, conceding an average xG of just 1.1 per game in the Championship. Clearly Chelsea is a big step up, but I feel they can keep the score line respectable and make Chelsea work very hard for the win. I can see Chelsea grinding out a 1-0 or 2-0 win, and under 2.5 goals makes a lot of appeal at 2.1. I was expecting unders to trade odds on in what should be a very tight game.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.1 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLutChe
SOUTHAMPTON V WEST HAM
7.30pm We have an all Premier League clash here as Southampton host West Ham. This should be a good game – both sides arrive into the fixture in a good spot with West Ham winning a big game against Wolves on Sunday that puts them back into the Top Four race with Manchester United dropping further points and Southampton have been playing very nice football lately – they are unbeaten in five and have played Manchester United, Spurs and Manchester City! The Saints were lucky to pick up a draw at Old Trafford, but other than that they have been playing very well. They deserved their 3-2 win over Spurs, although it’s wise to not get hyped up over their 2-0 wins against Everton and Norwich because both those sides have been very poor this season. They created a lot of chances in both games which is obviously a nice position though. Especially when you consider that West Ham haven’t been superb going forward recently. They have had to work very hard for their results compared to their rich vein of form when they were creating impressive xG figures.
West Ham come into this fixture off the back of xG figures like 1.50, 1.00, 0.81, 1.11 and 0.32. It’s a while away yet given how busy teams are these days, but Moyes could opt to rest some players here given the Last 16 in the Europa League is next week. He basically can’t rest players in the Premier League because there is still a chance that they could finish fourth given how unreliable Manchester United and Arsenal have been this season. They are only two points behind Manchester United now, but obviously Arsenal are in the box seat with the games in hand. It’s not a surprise to see an open market here, but I have Southampton as good value at 2.4. They have a lot going for them here and are definitely playing better football going into this game, however I fully respect the fact there this will be a pretty close game and I’m happy to keep stakes low, but I would have Southampton shorter than their current 2.4.
The Striker Says:
One point win Southampton to beat West Ham at 2.4 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQSthWhu
LIVERPOOL V NORWICH
8.15pm We finish the evening with the shortest price of the night as Liverpool host Norwich. Liverpool come into this game on a high after landing the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday against Chelsea – it was an excellent game and a very even game too. The penalty shootout could have gone either way but it just went the way of Liverpool when it came down to the goalkeepers taking the penalties. It’s always a super feeling to win a trophy even if it is only the League Cup and Liverpool have been in superb form lately. They have everything going for them here and it’s close to impossible to see past an easy home win. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Klopp opt to rest some players here after the extra time in the Carabao Cup and also a very busy schedule coming up involving the Champions League second leg. Klopp has rotated his squad well when he didn’t have Salah or Mane during the African Cup of Nations so I don’t expect an issue here if he opts to rest some of his stars. Norwich have been poor this season, and after a brief spell outside the bottom three they have slipped down to sit bottom of the table.
The thing about the Norwich good run was that their performance level didn’t really improve. They deserved to beat Everton, but they were a little lucky to beat Watford and draw with Crystal Palace. As it always the way in the Premier League, they bumped into a top side and they were never going to get points against Manchester City and Liverpool given the way both sides are playing at the moment. These sides only met here on the 19th of February when Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners. They could have scored more goals too given they finished the game with an xG of 3.51. I feel this is a case of how many goals can Liverpool score rather than will they win, and they were so impressive a couple of weeks ago I feel they can run riot here. Any Other Home Win is trading 3.05 in the Correct Score market and that’s worth backing here. Norwich have been conceding plenty lately – they conceded nine goals in their last three games and Liverpool will extend that poor run.
The Striker Says:
One point win Any Other Home Win at 3.05 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLivNrw
