The FA Cup third round takes place this weekend and @Olimp_SA have a preview including betting tips for Manchester United v Everton, Liverpool v Wolves and Manchester City v Chelsea
Friday – Manchester United vs Everton
Manchester United have built a good base going into the 3rd round of the FA Cup. The Red Devils have secured their 6th consecutive victory in all competitions on Tuesday night, cruising past Bournemouth with a 3-0 victory. Prior to the win, Manchester United managed to keep a clean sheet in all 3 games, one being in a cup victory against Burnley. The pivotal change in their defence could be considered to be the ex-Madrid man Casemiro, who has offered a drastic improvement to Man United defence and we think it will be difficult for Everton to break their current defensive momentum. Still, although likely to deliver a strong defensive display, considering the stakes of a knock-out game, it might take a bit of extra work for Man United to break the visitor`s defence and we don`t think there will be over 2.5 goals.
Everton has been far below their best, having lost 7 competitive games across all competitions. It seemed as if the tides turned for the Toffees after holding out a 1-1 draw against City, but it was not to be for they took a 4-1 punishing from Brighton in front of the home fans. Although underperforming defensively and offensively, they might still have a glimpse of hope going to Old Trafford as their last 3 visits to the great stadium ended in a draw. However, considering Manchester United`s blistering form, it`s had to picture the Toffees causing a great deal of trouble and ultimately Manchester United are the side to back on Friday night.
Manchester United to win -1.45 / Total goals (2.5) under – 1.98
Saturday – Liverpool vs Wolves
Liverpool`s FA Cup title defence may come to an early end if their play does not turn around. The Reds go into the 3rd round clash after a shocking 3-1 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League, with the fans demanding a response on Saturday night. Liverpool has further dropped in the Top 4 race, now sitting in 6th place with 7 points behind 4th. Nevertheless, despite their unconvincing run of form, Liverpool are still a force to be reconned with and with Cody Gakpo now officially eligible to play in the red outfit we might see a more threatening Liverpool side. Klopp`s side will have a further confidence boost knowing that they came out on top in the last 7 times these 2 sides met, but Wolves` last victory was ironically in the FA Cup back in 2019.
Julen Lopetegui`s start to his Wolverhampton career does not get any easier as he is not tasked with keeping his side alive against a formidable opponent. After a narrow loss to Manchester United, Wolves dropped more points in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Wolves have suffered a drought of sufficient attacking chances, but they might just take their chances against the shaky Liverpool backline. Still, it is always a difficult task for a team to put on a good performance when surrounded by the overwhelmingly loud Anfield support, and although they are capable of giving Liverpool a few problems, we would ultimately back Liverpool to win by a narrow margin.
Liverpool to win – 1.33 / Total goal (2.5) over – 1.58
Sunday – Manchester City v Chelsea
Manchester City went back to their winning ways after sinking Chelsea in a 1-0 victory. As previously mentioned, Chelsea`s early injuries played a key advantage in this victory as their attacking threat was hampered drastically in the early minutes. Still, Citizens were playing a shade of themselves in the first half and until the second half the game could`ve gone either way. During this fixture-packed part of the season, many teams will begin to drop standards due to player fitness, but this is the department where the Pep has a huge advantage going into this FA Cup, as on Thursday Pep had the advantage of still introducing top players with the likes of Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez, who scored the winning goal for the Citizens. Overall, Pep has a very talented squad that he can rotate, and fresh legs might just be the key part to City securing a spot in the 4th round, although it might again be a low-scoring and tense affair.
Chelsea could be considered unfortunate to have walked away with no points against the Citizens in their Premier League bout on Thursday night. Although they were the heavy underdogs going into the fixture, the Blues played a promising first half and caught Manchester City snoozing of a few occasions. However, both Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic went off due to an injury within just 22 minutes, further hampering Graham Potter`s attacking options and from there on it was difficult for the side to find their momentum. Squad depth could be a big problem for the Blues going into this fixture and may just be the one thing separating the 2 sides on Sunday.
Manchester City to win – 1.44 / Total goals (2.5) under – 2.17
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing, but are subject to change.
Betting markets for all of this week's FA Cup matches are available here
