FA Cup Fourth Round Tips
The FA Cup moves swiftly onto the fourth round and there are some cracking ties spread from Thursday to Monday.
Chelsea host Aston Villa, while Man City go to Spurs and those two all-Premier League Friday night contests promise to be high-class clashes.
National League South side Maidstone head to Ipswich on Saturday, while Newport will be eyeing a huge shock when they welcome Man United to Rodney Parade on Sunday.
Tip 1 - Tottenham to beat Man City @ 21-5
Tottenham have won five of their last seven matches and Spurs are a little unfortunate that they aren’t on a seven-game winning run.
Ange Postecoglou’s men were clearly the better side when bossing the ball and winning the shot and corner count in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United last time out and the only other blip was a 4-2 defeat at Brighton when Spurs were forced to pair Ben Davies and Emerson Royal at centre-back.
Clearly, Manchester City are a top-level side and they are the FA Cup outright favourites, but the Citizens aren’t enjoying a lead at the top of the Premier League and this competition may not be at the peak of Pep Guardiola’s priorities.
Tottenham’s chances will be boosted should Guardiola make changes to his starting line-up, but Spurs still appear to have a better chance of winning than the prices suggest.
Tip 2 Newcastle to beat Fulham @ 6-5
Fulham were involved in an intense EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Wednesday night and the efforts expended in that clash may take its toll when Newcastle come to Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The winter break arrived at the right time for the Magpies, who were dealing with an ever-increasing injury list and Newcastle can now field something that resembles a full-strength side.
The Mapgies have won just two of their last ten matches, but they are a far better side than that recent record indicates and Eddie Howe’s men caused Man City major problems when only going down 3-2 last time out.
Fulham have been struggling for goals and Newcastle look solid 6-5 shots on Saturday.
Tip 3: West Brom to beat Wolves @ 29-10
West Brom have won seven of their last nine home matches and have lost only one of their last 12 games at the Hawthorns. They may be able to upset Wolves in a Black Country derby on Sunday.
Of course, Wolves bring Premier League quality to the Hawthorns, but Gary O’Neil’s side have had a busy period with a pair of FA Cup third-round games against Brentford and then Monday night’s Premier League contest with Brighton.
O’Neil has done a fantastic job at Wolves, but the former Bournemouth boss is working with a small squad at Molineux.
Wolves can’t really afford to take chances with their team selection, given the rivalry between the clubs, which means asking a small selection of players to produce again and that could leave them vulnerable.