It’s Valentine’s weekend which means one thing this year: FA Cup fifth round accumulator betting! At least that’s what it means to us, although we might sneak in a meal out with the other half after the Saturday evening game! There are eight great ties from Saturday to Monday and that gives us just enough games for our usual three acca tips. With a bit of luck we might even win enough to cover dinner and a glass or two of Prosecco… or vintage champagne if we land the Long Shot!
Easy Winner – 12/5 (BetVictor)
- Derby to beat Reading (4/6) – As is often the case, our easy winner acca is a match odds treble but it’s at higher odds than normal, largely thanks to this bet which we think is one of the bets of the weekend. A price of 4/6 for Derby to beat Reading, on whom they have a 20 point lead in the Championship, is a real steal as we back the Rams to get an easy home win.
- Arsenal to beat Middlesbrough (4/9) – Boro might have hoped for something easier after winning at the Etihad but they will travel to the Emirates with plenty of hope. We don’t expect that to last long though and this looks like another easy win for the home team.
- Manchester United to beat Preston (2/5) – United failed to convince against Cambridge in the last round and on paper this is a much stiffer test but we fancy Louis van Gaal will field a strong side and get the win at the first time of asking.
Medium Risk – 13/2 (BetVictor)
- Derby to beat Reading (4/6) – A bet this good deserves inclusion in both our low and medium risk accumulators and this should get the ball rolling nicely.
- Aston Villa to beat Leicester (11/8) – Both sides will be prioritising Premier League survival but a good cup run can help that by boosting confidence and on home soil we think the Villains, who have shown some improvements recently, will get the job done here.
- Bradford v Sunderland both teams to score (20/23) – As they showed in the last round at Chelsea, Bradford like to play neat, passing football and they are more than capable of scoring against any side. Backing BTTS here looks a top bet and will hopefully land our second accumulator on Sunday afternoon.
Long Shot – 40/1 (Betfred)
- Blackburn to beat Stoke (15/8) – The last round saw plenty of upsets and we predict three more here, with three home wins against the odds, starting with Rovers to turn over Stoke.
- Crystal Palace to beat Liverpool (5/2) – Liverpool are getting better results but not always producing their best football and against a confident Palace at an intimidating Selhurst we think Steven Gerrard’s Wembley dreams will come to an end.
- Bradford to beat Sunderland (3/1) – Bradford came from 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge to beat Chelsea so on home soil – and starting at a very fair score of 0-0 – Sunderland should be a doddle! Odds of 3/1 are certainly great value against a Premier League side for whom top flight survival is the priority.