• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Betting Offers UK

Best Free Bets & Casino Sign Up Offers For 2020

  • Betting Offers
  • Free Bets
  • Casino Bonuses
  • Home
  • New Sites
  • Free Spins
  • Free Bet Clubs
  • Loyalty
  • Football
    • Premier League
  • Horse Racing
    • Cheltenham Festival
      • Disruptions & Cancellations
      • Old Course v New Course Differences
      • Prestbury Cup
      • Top Trainers
    • Grand National
      • Disruptions & Cancellations
      • Back to Back Grand National Winners
      • How Often Does the Favourite Win?
      • How to Pick the Grand National Winner
      • What is the Virtual Grand National?
  • Irish Lottery
  • Blog

FA Cup Third Round Preview: Three Giants that Could Be Slayed This Weekend

5 January, 2018

Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park Football Ground
Image Credit: Ronnie Macdonald via flickr

The FA Cup third round has been particularly kind on punters in recent years, with a bevy of giantkillings and shock results the order of the day.

And when you factor in the close proximity of this season’s third round to the chaotic festive period of fixtures, with many sides playing four games in the space of ten days, and as such a need to rotate weary players, the potential for more cupsets is there.

Having cast our eye over the fixture list, we’ve come up with three potential shocks that would reward punters handsomely.

Blackburn Rovers vs Hull City (Saturday, 3pm)

Tony Mowbray
Credit: Novikova Julia Wiki Commons

Such has been Blackburn’s improvement of late – and the rapid decline of Hull City – that the hosts here find themselves favourites with the bookmakers to win this match.

So Championship outfit Hull beating League 1 Blackburn wouldn’t be a giantkilling, of course, but at the same time the 5/2 odds available on a Tigers victory speaks volumes about the value available to punters here.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray was unequivocal this week: the league is his side’s primary focus as they chase an automatic return to the second tier of English football at the first attempt. “We won’t get overly-concerned about the result, at the end of the day,” he told the club’s website.

“Obviously, we’d like to win and progress in the cup, but we know what our main aim has to be this year and we’ll focus on that.”

“We’ll pick a team that can hopefully be very competitive, but I think they’re all big games and the main focus has to be Shrewsbury the following week.”

Hull, meanwhile, have been improving under new boss Nigel Adkins, with draws against Derby and Fulham backed by a narrow 0-1 defeat to a Bolton side that has beaten Cardiff and Sheffield United in the past fortnight.

It’s still baby steps of progression for Hull, but you sense they might to win this match more than their opponents – and what a lofty price they are.

Coventry City vs Stoke City (Saturday, 3pm)

Ricoh Arena
Credit: Julieanne Savage Geograph

You would think that punters would be biting off the hands of the bookmakers to have a bet on Coventry to upset Premier League Stoke on Saturday, although the bookies’ prices suggest little money has been forthcoming.

Odds of 4/1 are still widely available on Mark Robins’ side to complete another famous cup upset, and given what we know that seems tasty value.

Stoke are well in the doldrums, and Mark Hughes’ task is not being made any easier by the absence of some of his key defenders: Ryan Shawcross, Bruno Martins-Indi and Glen Johnson definitely miss out here, while Erik Pieters is very much a doubt too.

Another leveller to consider is this Coventry pitch at the Ricoh Arena. They share the ground with rugby union side Wasps, and it was clear for all to see in the 1-0 win over Chesterfield just how badly the surface was playing – these are not the top flight conditions that Stoke are used to.

With four wins in their last five games, punters with pound signs in their eyes will be backing Coventry to win this match at a fantastic price. But the smart play might just be the Sky Blues to avoid defeat by backing the Double Chance market at 6/5 – the replay, for differing reasons, suits both sides.

Wycombe Wanderers vs Preston (Saturday, 3pm)

Preston North End Deepdale
Credit: Martin Thirkettle Geograph

The scheduling of the FA Cup third round is all wrong: coming so close to the manic Christmas and New Year period, managers have no choice but to rotate their squads.

And that’s exactly what Preston’s Alec Neil will have to do. Four of his players – Tom Barkhuizen, Paul Huntington, Ben Davies and Ben Pearson – all played every minute of the Lancashire outfit’s four game spree in the space of ten days, and surely some if not all of that quartet will be rested here.

Factor in the injuries to Tommy Spurr, Darnell Fisher and Sean Maguire, plus the fact that Kevin O’Connor’s head will be in the clouds after it was confirmed he had won the Irish lottery, and we have the recipe for a classic cup shock.

Wycombe’s decent home form gives them a fighting chance, too. They have lost just 3/13 at Adams Park this term (W7 D3 L3), and in front of an expectant home support they could well have the edge on their Championship opponents.

So quotes of 16/5 from the bookmakers on a Wycombe win are eye-catching indeed, but again the smart investment might just be that Double Chance market at 17/20.

Previous Post: « Will Anthony Joshua Continue to Deliver Knockout Blows for Punters in 2018?
Next Post: New Year, New Opportunities: Analysing the Pick of the Outright Betting Markets in 2018 »

Primary Sidebar

Blog

Football Manager In Front of Stadium Holding Ball
Why Do Football Clubs Employ Inexperienced Big Name Players as Managers?
Football Player Celebrating
The Closest Premier League Title Races in History: Will 2020/21 Be One of Them?
Saudi Flag Against Dark Background
Racing Behemoth Khalid Abdullah Dies Aged 83 – What a Legacy He Leaves Behind
Donald Trump Waving
Donald Trump and Golf: The Courses Owned by the Former US President & Why He Was Dropped by the PGA Championship
Football Referee Flipping Coin
Heads or Tails: When Football Matches & Tournaments Have Been Decided by a Coin Toss
More Blog Posts | Full Archives

Archives

Loyalty Offers

  • Acca Bonuses
  • Acca Insurance
  • Best Odds Guaranteed
  • Free Bet Clubs
  • Loyalty Points

Major Events

  • Grand National
    • Disruptions & Cancellations
    • Back to Back Winners
    • How Often Does the Favourite Win?
    • How to Pick the Grand National Winner
    • What is the Virtual Grand National?
  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Festival Disruptions & Cancellations
    • Old Course v New Course
    • The Prestbury Cup
    • Top Trainers
  • Premier League
  • Irish Lottery

Popular Posts

  • Equine Flu Outbreak 2019: Timeline & Latest Updates
  • The Life & Career of Emiliano Sala: From Cow Fields in Argentina to a Terrace Darling in Nantes
  • Brexit & Football: Will Leaving the EU Spell the End of the Premier League As We Know It?
  • Cheltenham Gold Cup 2019 Entries: Who’s In, Who’s Out and Who Should You Back?
  • Rooney’s Rap Sheet: After Airport Arrest We Ask Why Wayne Can't Keep Out of Trouble?
  • Manchester United Sack Jose Mourinho: Is it Farewell or Good Riddance, and What Next for the Portuguese Manager?
  • The Brexit Affect: UK & Irish Horse Racing Could Look Very Different After Leaving the EU
  • Gambling Advertising in Sport: Is it Game Over for Betting Shirt Sponsors in Football?
  • Match Fixing in Sport: How Deep Does it Go and Should Punters be Concerned?
  • Fans Behaving Badly: Football Violence, Riots, Protests and Disruptions
  • Cheating in Darts: Coughing, Farting & Outright Deception
  • FOBT Maximum Stake Limit: How the Government Has Made a Shambles of Our Era’s Most Contentious Betting Issue
  • Does Football Have a Gambling Problem? Sturridge Latest to be Charged by the FA For Breaching Betting Rules
  • A History of The Tote: One of Sports Betting’s Oldest Institutions

Related Posts

  • Why Do Football Clubs Employ Inexperienced Big Name Players as Managers?
  • The Closest Premier League Title Races in History: Will 2020/21 Be One of Them?
  • Heads or Tails: When Football Matches & Tournaments Have Been Decided by a Coin Toss
  • Liverpool or Manchester United – Which Is the Most Successful Club?
  • The Shortest Ever Football Managerial Reigns: Where Does Tony Pulis' 45 Day Sheffield Wednesday Tenure Rank?
  • Messi’s Magic: All of the Broken Records That Prove Lionel is Better Than Ronaldo
  • What Is The Bosman Ruling and Who Is the Best Bosman Signing Ever?
  • Gerard Houllier & Other Ordinary Footballers That Became Extraordinary Managers
  • Copa Libertadores: What Is It and How Can You Watch It?
  • New Rules On Maternity Leave Bring Women’s Football Into the 21st Century

Betting Blog

  • American Football
  • Athletics
  • Betting Industry
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Darts
  • Football
  • General
  • Golf
  • Horse Racing
  • Motor Racing
  • Politics
  • Rugby
  • Snooker
  • Tennis
betting-sites.co.uk
gambling-sites.co.uk

Copyright © 2021 Betting-Offers.com | BeGambleAware.org 18+