Shay Given’s FA Cup Predictions
We asked CopyBet brand ambassador Shay Given for his predictions for four of this weekend’s matches and also who he’s picking to go all the way and lift the cup. The former Newcastle United keeper has backed the Magpies to be celebrating at Wembley on Saturday May 17th and they can be backed at 10/1 in the outright market.
Here are Shay’s four selections for Third Round weekend, which when combined into one accumulator would return at odds of 19/2.
Obviously it’s been a big week for West Ham with their decision to sack Julen Lopetegui and replace him with Graham Potter. He’ll want to start off well but this is a tough tie for him first up, away at Villa Park.
I think Unai Emery will have his Villa side ready and raring to go under the lights on Friday night. He’s got a fantastic record in cup competitions throughout his managerial career and I can see Villa advancing to the next round.
I think Wolves might prioritise Premier League survival over a cup run and with that in mind, that could present a good opportunity for Bristol City to make it through to the next round.
New Wolves manager Vitor Pereira might make a few changes to his team selection for this one and we know he’ll definitely be without their star forward Matheus Cunha through suspension. With Bristol City doing pretty well in the Championship at the moment, sitting in 8th position and pushing for those play-off spots, they’ll fancy their chances and I’ll back them to sneak through.
Tamworth have done brilliantly so far in the FA Cup to get to this stage and I’m sure every neutral will be cheering them on in this one. There will definitely be moments in this game where Tamworth get a bit of joy, especially through that long throw weapon that they have which I can see causing Tottenham a few problems.
But I think Spurs will be too strong over the ninety minutes and the Premier League side will navigate this one without too many problems.
The draw has thrown up a brilliant game here between two teams with a rich history in the competition.
I went to Arsenal’s last fixture, their 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle in the League Cup Semi Final on Tuesday night and after that disappointment I am sure Mikel Arteta will be desperate to win this game and to get through to the next round. The pressure is on him a little bit at the moment so a victory against United would definitely take some of the heat off.
I would expect Arsenal to go as full strength as they can for this one – obviously they are missing Bukayo Saka through injury, which is a big loss for them, but at home they might have just enough to see of Ruben Amorim’s United.
*Odds correct at the time of writing. 18+ only. GambleAware.
