The FA Cup semi-finals take place this weekend and one of the top two teams in the betting won’t be in the final.
Let’s start with a look at the Outright Betting where Manchester City are trading as 15/10 favourites ahead of Liverpool at 2/1. Chelsea can be backed at 85/40 with Palace, the rank outsiders, at 12/1.
Click here for FA Cup Winner betting
SATURDAY
MANCHESTER CITY v LIVERPOOL
These sides met last week in the League with the match finishing 2-2 a result which suited home team Manchester City more than Liverpool as it keeps them in control of their own destiny in the EPL.
Back to the FA Cup though and Manchester City had no problems seeing off Southampton 4-1 on the road in their last start and prior to that they had beaten Peterborough on the road, Fulham at home and Swindon away. All of those victories have been comfortable with 2 or 3 goal winning margins.
Midweek, City played to a goalless draw at Atletico Madrid enough to see them through to the semi-finals of the Champions League and they are on an unbeaten 10 match run across all competitions.
Liverpool have been involved in slightly tighter matches to reach the semi-finals beating Nottingham 1-0 on the road in the quarters and prior to that seeing off English Premier League side, Norwich 2-1 at home. Rounds 3 and 4 were also home matches and comfortable wins over Shrewsbury and Cardiff.
Liverpool played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Benfica in the Champions league in midweek and progressed to the semi-finals. They have now gone 7 matches in all competitions without defeat.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Manchester City 31/20
Draw 5/2
Liverpool 18/10
Suggested Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 16/10
I can’t shake this feeling that we are in for an absolute thriller at Wembley on Saturday and this bet would have arrived in 5 of the last 6 head-to-head meetings between the sides.
SUNDAY
CHELSEA v CRYSTAL PALACE
Chelsea saw off Middlesbrough 2-0 on the road to book their spot in the last 4. They were also away from home in the last 16 where they beat Luton 3-2. Their toughest test to date came in round 4 a 2-1 extra time win over Plymouth and they got their campaign rolling with a comfortable 5-1 home win over Chesterfield.
Chelsea beat Real Madrid in extra time in Spain in midweek in the Champions League, but it wasn’t enough to see them through to the semi-finals. They have been in some rather poor form, but domestically hammered Southampton 6-0 on the road last weekend.
Crystal Palace beat Millwall on the road in round 3 and have had 3 home games since seeing off Hartlepool, Stoke and most recently Everton with a convincing 4-0 home win in the quarter-finals. Palace’s last action domestically was a 2-1 defeat to Leicester on the road and that broke a run of 7 successive matches without defeat across all competitions.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Chelsea 6/10
Draw 16/5
Crystal Palace 5/1
Suggested Bet: Handicap, Chelsea (-1) at 31/20
Chelsea have an excellent record against Crystal Palace and have won their last 9 meetings and they also seem to have bounced back to form with a couple of strong performances in succession and I think that at some point on Sunday they are going to break Palace resistance and will win the game in regulation time by more than a goal.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
