England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

[maliniok]

	Friday 6 January 2012	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
	Liverpool v Oldham Athletic (20:00 GMT)	1.14	11	26	100.66 %

	Saturday 7 January 2012	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
	Birmingham City v Wolverhampton Wanderers (12:30 GMT)	2.46	3.4	3.25	100.83 %
	Dagenham & Redbridge v Millwall (13:00 GMT)	4.5	3.6	1.92	102.08 %
	Barnsley v Swansea City (15:00 GMT)	3.1	3.45	2.5	101.24 %
	Brighton & Hove Albion v Wrexham (15:00 GMT)	1.46	4.6	8.6	101.86 %
	Coventry City v Southampton (15:00 GMT)	4	3.5	2.08	101.65 %
	Crawley Town v Bristol City (15:00 GMT)	2.6	3.4	2.98	101.43 %
	Derby County v Crystal Palace (15:00 GMT)	2.4	3.4	3.3	101.38 %
	Doncaster Rovers v Notts County (15:00 GMT)	2.06	3.5	4.1	101.51 %
	Everton v Tamworth (15:00 GMT)	1.1	11.5	42	101.99 %
	Fleetwood Town v Blackpool (15:00 GMT)	4.7	3.8	1.85	101.65 %
	Fulham v Charlton Athletic (15:00 GMT)	1.47	4.6	8.5	101.53 %
	Gillingham v Stoke City (15:00 GMT)	6	3.95	1.72	99.88 %
	Hull City v Ipswich Town (15:00 GMT)	1.88	3.7	4.5	102.44 %
	Macclesfield Town v Bolton Wanderers (15:00 GMT)	5.3	3.9	1.75	101.65 %
	Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury Town (15:00 GMT)	1.45	4.6	9	101.82 %
	Milton Keynes Dons v Queens Park Rangers (15:00 GMT)	3.2	3.45	2.5	100.24 %
	Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers (15:00 GMT)	1.65	4	5.9	102.56 %
	Norwich City v Burnley (15:00 GMT)	1.85	3.8	5	100.37 %
	Nottingham Forest v Leicester City (15:00 GMT)	3.05	3.4	2.54	101.57 %
	Reading v Stevenage (15:00 GMT)	1.52	4.3	7	103.33 %
	Sheffield United v Salisbury City (15:00 GMT)	1.2	7.6	18.5	101.90 %
	Swindon Town v Wigan Athletic (15:00 GMT)	4	3.4	2.44	95.40 %
	Tottenham Hotspur v Cheltenham Town (15:00 GMT)	1.12	11	32	101.50 %
	Watford v Bradford City (15:00 GMT)	1.47	4.5	8.2	102.44 %
	West Bromwich Albion v Cardiff City (15:00 GMT)	1.73	3.9	5.5	101.63 %
	Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa (17:30 GMT)	5.8	4.1	1.65	102.24 %

	Sunday 8 January 2012	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
	Manchester City v Manchester United (13:00 GMT)	2.3	3.45	3.65	99.86 %
	Chelsea v Portsmouth (15:00 GMT)	1.2	8.2	20	100.53 %
	Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham (15:00 GMT)	3	3.4	2.5	102.75 %
	Peterborough United v Sunderland (15:30 GMT)	4	3.5	2.09	101.42 %

	Monday 9 January 2012	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
	Arsenal v Leeds United (19:45 GMT)	1.28	6	15	101.46 %

[maliniok]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 I know that FA Cup is all about upsets but by first looks I see decent prices on Bristol City against Crawley (two divisions differences) because Crawley are not as anonymous as they were last season. Also good price on QPR to beat MK Franchise because they home side don't tend to do this well in FA Cup. Thinking about possible upsets maybe Stevenage against Reading, Swindon against Wigan or Cardiff City against West Brom. Anyway, let's debate.

[Donkson]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Blackburn stands out to me.

[western skies]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

Blackburn stands out to me.

We'd love to know why. ;)

[Kiddo112]

Agree on Bristol City looking attractive. 2.1 DNB with Bet365 could be a play. Must do some research....

[AHughes]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Shrewsbury town at Middlesbrough anyone? They have a well known FA cup underdog pedigree winning at Everton somewhere around 10 years ago. Also done well in the carling cup this season defeating Swansea & Derby before going out at Arsenal.

[dj rob]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Oldham +2.5 1.85 Pinnacle 2/10 Liverpool who have scoring problems might struggle to beat Oldham by three goals. Although they put on a good performance vs. ManC yesterday they were beaten by three goals. This match will take place on Fr, so they don´t have too much time to recover...small stake. Other outsider bets could be Burnley at Norwich (4.22), Stevenage at Reading (7.3). Both outsiders are in good shape and hard to beat away from home.

[wisey10]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Iv'e just had a good luck through this list and I'm struggling to find too much value anywhere on the Asian Handicaps. All of the teams I fancied for a potential upset are pretty poorly priced: Birmingham +0 @ 1.625 v Wolves (Way too short) Barnsley +0.25 V Swansea @ 1.85 (Was looking for +0.5) Crawley +0 v Bristol City @ 1.775 (Too short and would want positive handicap) Notts County +0.5 v Doncaster @ 1.80 (Could be a goer, after 1.9 or bigger ideally) macclesfield +0.75 v Bolton @ 1.95 (maybe, was after +1 really) MK Dons +0 v QPR @ 1.9 (Was hoing for +0.5 but they are favs here!) Swindon +0.5 v Wigan @ 1.55 (Price way too short) Cardiff +0.75 v West Brom @ 1.825 (Could be a goer, again looking for 1.9 or better really) Sheff wednesday +0.25 v West Ham @ 1.725 (Price too low, would want +0.5) Portsmouth +2 v Chelsea @ 1.95 (Could be a goer, write up to follow) Peterborough +0.5 v Sunderland @ 1.90 ( Could be a goer, write up to follow) Pick the bones out of that lot. Not a whole lot of value anywhere for me at first sight. The 2 bets i think I will go for are Peterborough +0.5 at home to Sunderland and Pompey +2 away at Chelsea. I will have a more in depth look and get back later. Just thought I'd share my early thoughts.

[Alexc]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

I know that FA Cup is all about upsets but by first looks I see decent prices on Bristol City against Crawley (two divisions differences) because Crawley are not as anonymous as they were last season. Also good price on QPR to beat MK Franchise because they home side don't tend to do this well in FA Cup. Thinking about possible upsets maybe Stevenage against Reading, Swindon against Wigan or Cardiff City against West Brom. Anyway, let's debate.

Warnock said something in his interview after the Norwich game about them being ready for the Newcastle game, which is their next league game, which indicates perhaps his feelings about the cup match. Just thought it was interesting that Man United are 11 to win the cup. I probably would have them as my tip against City, as I reckon they'll be just that bit more motivated. Wouldn't be surprised to see a similar City performance in the FA Cup to the Champions League, as, having said it a hundred times, that's the only thing I reckon they're really interested in this season

[Dylan]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Not the most glamorous of picks or indeed odds but Villa at 1.65 and to a lesser extent Stoke at 1.72 are attractive to me. There seems to be a bit of optimism in the media (game to be broadcast on ESPN) and perhaps in the odds that an upset is likely here, but for me thats a little too much of a dream. Villa are a mid table team Premiership side whilst Bristol are 19th in League 2, managerless, have suffered 4 defeats in a row conceding 14 in those games and indeed overall havent won in 7 in the league. Pretty dire form indeed. Villa are not a bad side, they might be a bit dour to watch by Premier League standards but should be way too solid for Rovers and the squad isn't big enough to rest too many players so a fair few first teamers should start. As we saw last season McLeish is a manger who takes the cups seriously, and certainly with the fans a bit restless the last thing he'll want is an embarrassing defeat live on TV. Much of the same applies to Stoke. Gillingham are going well this season, but Stokes cup team has been good enough in the Europa League against the likes of Besiktas so would expect them to triumph in this one. Nothing placed yet but these two are certainly worth considering in my eyes.

[bowles10]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 what poor value QPR are this week away at MK Dons, we havent won a cup tie to progress in the FA cup for now 11 years, and i am very concerned we will get knocked out again despite 5000 hardy souls making the trip up to the Franchise club. We are so well supported away from home and the fans do not deserve a weakened team. Wins breed confidence and i hope NW goes for the win here with a no holds barred approach. If we rest on our laurels i think MK may turn us over BArton suspended but on loan Macheda from Man U is eligible to start

[Feduloff]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray is facing a midfield injury crisis ahead of Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie against Shrewsbury. The Boro boss went into Monday's 3-0 Championship defeat at Blackpool without Nicky Bailey, Julio Arca, Kevin Thomson and Merouane Zemmama, and the quartet are facing a race against time to be fit for the weekend. In addition, Barry Robson collected his 10th booking of the season at Bloomfield Road and will miss the next two games through suspension. Asked if he is expecting any respite for the weekend, Mowbray told the club's official website: "I wouldn't hold out much hope. "It will be touch and go and we are not in a position to gamble with them. I don't think Bails will be ready and Kevin will be touch and go. "You tend to pick up niggles and strains coming back from injury and maybe next week will be too soon

[Feduloff]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Derby vs Crystal Palace, 11.01 Crystal Palace - Cardiff 1/2 Carling CUP very important for Crystal Palace. Derby win 9/10 2.30

[Mustafa]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Leeds +2 @ 1.90-1.95 looks attractive. Mainly because they have a good record against Gunners in FA Cup. Leeds are in the top half in the Championship and Wenger is known for playing youngsters in cups and taking into account the number of games Arsenal played during the holidays the most I would expect from them is winning by 1 goal. Most probably won't bet on anything apart from Manchester derby since FA Cup is really unpredictable, but based on the stats the above bet looks attractive.

[RedDevil92]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 I took Everton not to concede @1,67 with sportingbet. The Toffees a too strong for them and even with a mixed squad Tamworth shouldn't have any chance to take something. Everton to win 3-0 is my call.

[IAmGooner]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

Leeds +2 @ 1.90-1.95 looks attractive. Mainly because they have a good record against Gunners in FA Cup. Leeds are in the top half in the Championship and Wenger is known for playing youngsters in cups and taking into account the number of games Arsenal played during the holidays the most I would expect from them is winning by 1 goal. Most probably won't bet on anything apart from Manchester derby since FA Cup is really unpredictable, but based on the stats the above bet looks attractive.

I gotta say, I agree with you on that one Mustafa. My first thought was that we were too short tbh, I don't expect Leeds to win but I really cannot see us trashing them either, factor in the changes we will inevitably make aswell, plenty of defensive injuries, Leeds on a + handicap looks the way to go IMO. Probably best to get a feel for what side we'll be putting out before staking on it, but I suspect there'll be a few changes in midfield and attack.

[KennyDelight]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Liverpool by 2 goals @ 4.00 (Sportsbet.com.au) Much motivation to win this match as a win will mean Luis Suarez will only miss league matches v Stoke, Bolton and Wolves and will return for the Tottenham match. Dalglish will want to avoid the replay due to a busy schedule in January with Carling Cup commitments. Have seen an improved focus during the 'Carling Cup' run which has seen Liverpool progress into the semi finals with away wins in all rounds (Exeter, Brighton, Stoke, Chelsea). Sides put out for those matches have not been weakened with majority of youngsters and have been almost first choice. I expect Sebastian Coates, Jamie Carragher and Martin Kelly to start but I don't expect too many 'youngsters' like a team Arsenal would have put out in previous years. Also expect a appearance later on from Steven Gerrard. Going by his bench appearance against City, Bellamy and Downing/Rodriguez on the wings. Bellamy back on the bench for the City match is my opinion. Might have not put away as many as the second half of last season but there has been some outstanding goalkeeping against us (Vorm, Ruddy, Bunn springs to mind), as well as hitting the post 18 times in 20 matches. Have been superb defensively though, only conceding 2 or more in only 2 matches (at Tottenham and City)

[RedDevil92]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Big blow for Manchester City: Balotelli is out with an injury and the Toure brothers are denied to stay for this match:cheers Barry is suspended and Hargeaves is considered as not fit enough. Mancini said thathe has problems to fill the bench. As we all know, Bridge and Tevez won't take part in this match despite not being injured. So not that easy for City.

[Mahno]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

Big blow for Manchester City: Balotelli is out with an injury and the Toure brothers are denied to stay for this match:cheers Barry is suspended and Hargeaves is considered as not fit enough. Mancini said thathe has problems to fill the bench. As we all know, Bridge and Tevez won't take part in this match despite not being injured. So not that easy for City.

Well,Man.City still unbeaten at home and the way Man.Utd play lately i just don't see how they can upset hosts.Red nose lost control over his team,defence is shocking,goalkeepers the same,strikers don't outscore opponents anymore.At the moment anyone can beat Man.Utd if they want to...even Basel ;) So i think man.City @2.10 is a good value.I agree both Toures will be a blow but unlikely United City have enough players to field 2 equal teams on the pitch so i judt don't see a big problem here.

[RedDevil92]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

Well' date='Man.City still unbeaten at home and the way Man.Utd play lately i just don't see how they can upset hosts.Red nose lost control over his team,defence is shocking,goalkeepers the same,strikers don't outscore opponents anymore.At the moment anyone can beat Man.Utd if they want to...even Basel ;) So i think man.City @2.10 is a good value.I agree both Toures will be a blow but unlikely United City have enough players to field 2 equal teams on the pitch so i judt don't see a big problem here.[/quote'] I don't think you closely. Well I do and the Basle match was over a month ago. Until the Blackburn match United were 8-1-0 in the league. I cannot remember the last time United lost 3 matches in a row. United will bounce back. AH+0,5 on United looks good to me, City will mainly rely on Silva and Aguero.

[Mahno]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

I don't think you closely. Well I do and the Basle match was over a month ago. Until the Blackburn match United were 8-1-0 in the league. I cannot remember the last time United lost 3 matches in a row. United will bounce back. AH+0,5 on United looks good to me, City will mainly rely on Silva and Aguero.

Utd is a shadow of the true champions.Team like Utd should of get proper keeper on a first place.They just can't win all matches with boy in a goal.Defence is another major factor.Plus all this sh*t again between Fergie and Roony-i see some lose conection between manager and players too.After that Basel match they won 4 games against Fulham,Wolves,Wigan and QPR - which is not really an indicator that team is in a good shape.They did strugle in CL big time and tbh they had pretty easy group.

[wisey10]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 It looks like a difficult round so I will be keeping low stakes on these. Initially, I was looking for some good value handicaps on teams who could cause an upset. However, there wasn't much taking my fancy at all. And in fact, I have ended up going the other way taking teams against the underdogs whose prices just seem too low. Have the bookies overestimated the cup upset on some of these...? Crawley v Bristol City +0 (AH) @ 2.20 Bet365 2 Points Initially I was looking to take Crawley on a handicap here. But the price on them is so low, Iv'e flip flopped and ended up taking Bristol at 2.20 which I think is a cracking price on the draw no bet. Ok, Crawley are top of league 2 and with the home advantage, this will be a tough game for Bristol. But I think the price on City is just too big. Crawley are obviously in good form but they lost at home on Boxing day to Gillingham so they are hardly invincible. Bristol are near the bottom of the championship but they had a terrible start to the season and they are much improved under Mcinnes. There are 2 leagues between these two at the moment and although they could be in the same division next year, I think City have more quality than that and will avoid relegation. This should be a good game and no doubt Crawley and their fans will be fired up for it. But ultimately, I think this should be priced up much more evenly and as such I'm more than happy to take 2.20 on the +0 handicap on Bristol. Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa -1 (AH) @ 1.875 Bet365 2 Points I think Villa will win this game away at lowly Rovers. They might not cover the handicap but I think they will at least get the job done and there has to be a good chance of them winning this at a canter. Yes it's a big game for Rovers and they should be well up for this but they are struggling in league 2 and Villa have got a big enough squad to send a decent team here capable of scoring a few. Mcleish has been getting stick off Villa fans so he certainly won't want to provide more ammunition by going out of the cup against a league 2 side. He won the Carling Cup with brum last years which suggests he is a man who values the cups and lets face it, with a decent run, Villa are the sort of side who should be looking at Cups for glory. A big side, in no danger of relegation and a big fan base wanting a bit of glory. Villa have some cracking young players coming through and I would expect a few of them to get a start here to show what they can do. It's the cup and anything can happen but Rovers are struggling right down at the bottom of the football league and they aren't one of the teams who I see causing an upset. Mcleish should be really keen to win this and I expect to see a Villa side strong enough to win this and get a professional job done. Sheff Wednesday v West Ham -0.25 (AH) @ 2.150 Bet365 2 Points This is another game where I was intially looking to back the underdog but have come away punting on their opposition. I was looking to oppose the hammers initially because they have had a lot of injuries recently and I wasn't sure how seriously Allardyche would take this. His priority first and foremost is promotion and I suspect the cup is an unwelcome distraction. However, there are a couple of factors which make this bet appealing to me. Firstly, the price. West Ham are 2.4 for the win but 2.15 on a -0.25 handicap. The handicap price looks too high to me considering they are only 2.4 for the straight win. Another factor is West Hams away form. They have the best away record in the championship and I wouldn't necessarily expect this price on them against an average champiopnship team. In this game they are going down a league and Wednesday will be in for a tough match. Especially considering that they will be without Ben Marshall, arguably their best player this season, as he is temporarily back at Stoke from where he is on loan. It will be a good cup game with a lively atmosphere but at the price on offer, I think the value is with the Hammers.

[staffy]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Really poor odds but just cant see Liverpool losing and I need to win some points back after rubbish weekend.

Tip Detail

Sport	Football (England - Cups)
Event	Liverpool v Oldham
Selection	Liverpool
Strength	10/10
Date	06/01/2012
Bookmaker/Price	Skybet @ 1.11
Reasoning	Liverpool have done very well in the cups this season and they will be far to strong for Oldham. Being at home also will ginve them a massive advantage and I just cant see them losing here.

[gstomlinson]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

I don't think you closely. Well I do and the Basle match was over a month ago. Until the Blackburn match United were 8-1-0 in the league. I cannot remember the last time United lost 3 matches in a row. United will bounce back. AH+0,5 on United looks good to me, City will mainly rely on Silva and Aguero.

As a United season ticket holder myself, I think you may overestimate us quite considerably. It all depends on how SAF chooses to approach the game imo. If he lines up with another team full of players playing out of position and without any shape or creativity then we will be blown out of the water completely by City. Problem is, SAF is too stubborn and arrogant to understand when United are in trouble and that things need to be changed. What really needs to happen is a complete squad overhaul because most of our players are incapable of playing creatively and consistently against even the lower teams in the Prem. I'd actually say we only have one world class player that would walk into any side in the world, and he's injured for the best part of the year. Anyway, to Sunday. Obviously there won't be a complete squad overhaul by then, and the likes of Park, Carrick, Ferdinand, Evra etc will still be around to ruin what could be a potentially interesting team selection. What Fergie really should do is have a bit more faith in some of the kids. It would be nice to see Fryers start for once, Rafael to be brought back in at RB (why Valencia is being wasted there is a mystery to me), Welbeck and Keane to start up top, Pogba and/or Morrison in the centre and Lingard on the wings, At least they will give us something different and maybe play with a bit of passion and commitment, that appears severely lacking from our so called first team players at the moment. All this suggestion is pointless though. Fergie will line up with 3 midfielders in defence, a couple of defenders in midfield along with Park and a supposedly world class striker up front who doesn't look interested in anything expect his next pay cheque. And we will get annihilated as per. You may be able to tell that I'm still not over yesterday's shambles :lol

[HastGill1]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

I don't think you closely. Well I do and the Basle match was over a month ago. Until the Blackburn match United were 8-1-0 in the league. I cannot remember the last time United lost 3 matches in a row. United will bounce back. AH+0,5 on United looks good to me, City will mainly rely on Silva and Aguero.

Yeah, what a terrible situation to be in, relying on two of the best players in the world! :lol.. Its a big game for United, Ferguson can talk about experience all he likes but United are not performing anywhere near what they should be, injuries are killing them and they are showing little fight. I don't think anyone can back them to win at the weekend with much confidence, Giggs was their best player the other night and he is 38, they can't rely on him twice in a week anymore. City have both Toure's, Barry and Balotelli out but their starting line-up is hardly weak; ............................Hart................................ Clichy.........Lescott........Kompany........Richards .................Milner..........De Jong...................... Silva...........................................Nasri/Johnson ..................Aguero...........Dzeko..................... Lescott I'm never convinced by but apart from that the back 5 is very strong, centre midfield is obviously weakened but still looks stronger than United's. The front four are all very good players. United's back line is a big cause for concern, they won't keep a clean sheet on Sunday, they have been given the runaround by Yakubu and Ba in the last two games I can't see them being able to contain Silva, Aguero and Dzeko. Nothing in Uniteds current form suggests they can get anything from the game, Rooney and Nani are capable of winning games but the defence currently is so unreliable it is difficult to see them outscoring such a good home side.

[Dylan]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Well I’m definitely taking these two before the price drops anymore. Bristol Rovers vs Villa – Villa to win 1.57 at bet365 (5 units) For all the reasons quoted below

There seems to be a bit of optimism in the media (game to be broadcast on ESPN) and perhaps in the odds that an upset is likely here, but for me thats a little too much of a dream. Villa are a mid table team Premiership side whilst Bristol are 19th in League 2, managerless, have suffered 4 defeats in a row conceding 14 in those games and indeed overall havent won in 7 in the league. Pretty dire form indeed. Villa are not a bad side, they might be a bit dour to watch by Premier League standards but should be way too solid for Rovers and the squad isn't big enough to rest too many players so a fair few first teamers should start. As we saw last season McLeish is a manger who takes the cups seriously, and certainly with the fans a bit restless the last thing he'll want is an embarrassing defeat live on TV.

Gillingham vs Stoke – Stoke to win 1.67 at Ladbrokes (3 units) Again mentioned this game in an earlier post but I’ve been reading today about the bad blood that simmers between Pullis and the Gillingham chairman after Pullis was sacked as Gills manger in 1999, and so I think that the Stoke manager will not be taking this game likely and I expect a starting line up as strong or even stronger than the Europa Leagues ones. With all the other matches I will probably wait for starting line ups to be announced before taking anything else, as it can be quite hard to predict how managers will approach these games. Will be especially keeping an eye on; Bolton at 1.73 to beat Macclesfield – a Prem vs League 2 clash where the gulf in quality should be a bit too much to overcome assuming a good strength Bolton team. Surely Coyle will want to keep up the bit of momentum that 4 points from 6 has brought them. Sunderland to win away at Peterborough – Sunderland will be fine in the league under MON and he has a very good cup record particularly at Villa, so I think there will be hope for a good cup run. Assuming he doesn’t mess with the first 11 too much I fancy they are worth backing here, and even if he did I’m sure the players coming in will take the chance to impress their new manager. Wolves DNB (2.38 currently) - is another one, but I’ll be waiting to see what team Birmingham put out rather than Wolves. With a promotion push very much the focus in the second half of the season I think Hughton won’t be too keen on a cup run, although I guess his hand could be forced as this is a local derby and the fans wont be too happy if they allow Wolves an easy route through. :hope

[RedDevil92]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Does anyone know why the odds on Crawley dropped and the odds for Bristol rised= Did Bristol confirm to play with a mixed squad?

[Kiddo112]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1

Does anyone know why the odds on Crawley dropped and the odds for Bristol rised= Did Bristol confirm to play with a mixed squad?

Nothing confirmed but it appears that Maynard is unlikely to play for City. Apparently they don't want to cup-tie him with a number of clubs sniffing around. Probably not telling you anything you don't know already though.

[HastGill1]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Unfortunately I think our cup run is going to come to an end on Saturday, the drama between Scally and Pulis is certainly an interesting background to the tie, basically Pulis had already decided to move to Bristol City before our Second Division Play-off final against Man City (believe it or not) in '99, he tried to 'blackmail' Scally four days before the final knowing he was going to City regardless of the result, he believed he was owed money based on player sales and other bonuses, Scally refused to pay and it went to court with Pulis claiming wrongful dismissal against the club. I believe it ended in a settlement and plenty of bad blood.. Fast forward to today and obviously the two men have gone in pretty different directions, Pulis is flying high with Stoke and we are back where it started with Pulis in the bottom rung of the football league. Stoke won't be playing a first team but it will be strong and similar, if not stronger, to the sides they put out in the Europa League games, it seems likely it will be similar to the following; ----------------------Begovic---------------------- -Wilkinson----Woodgate-----Upson----Higginbotham- -Pennant-------Palacios--------Delap--------Jerome- ----------------Fuller--------Jones----------------- On a side note it looks like Crouch won't be playing, all Gills fans would love to see him out there, due to the content of his autobiography that was released a few years ago. If he does play he will receive absolute dogs abuse, I can't see it though, the situation is discussed in the article below if you are interested: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/oct/26/newsstory.gillingham Their team will I think be strong they were, of course, finalists last year, and I can't see Pulis taking any chances, especially considering his history with us. We are on a decent run at the moment, but with Frank Nouble going back to West Ham and Jo Kuffour back to Bristol Rovers (scored 7 in 12 for us) we are massively short of attacking options. I expect us to line-up like we did on Monday against Aldershot with Danny Kedwell up-front on his own, supported by Curtis Weston who is a central midfielder and/or Chris Whelpdale who is a right winger. We will be playing essentially a 4-5-1, our defence is slow, Matt Lawrence and Andy Frampton at the back have no pace and I expect us to be exposed on more than a few occasions. I have been to a fair few games this season, against Aldershot we had little going forward, they were a poor side but as I have seen plenty of times when we don't have two up front Kedwell struggles and we struggle to score. We are a decent League Two side but there is a massive difference between that and the Premiership, I don't think we have the weapons in the side to cause them problems, Kedwell will run all day but with no-one to play alongside him he will really be up against it. We have a decent midfield but are not a big side and I can see us being bullied out of it, the Stoke side is not one to be out battled and if there were one team you would back to beat a league two side away it would be Stoke with their team of 6 footers. I can't see them being intimidated and I can't see us causing them problems in attack with the current line-up, away win for me, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them keep a clean sheet either. Stoke - 1.67 - Ladbrokes Stoke -1AH - 2.1 - Paddypower

[methanol]

Re: England > FA Cup 3rd round > Fri 6/1- Mon 9/1 Well i think the only game i m gonna bet on will be liverpool to win 1/2/3-0 @ 2.65 (Bwin) depending on the lineup and will wait to see what's up with the manchester derby and tottenham match! For the first bet IF i decide to place a small stake the reasoning is that Pool dont concede easily, apart from the city match and against a lower league club i think they can win to nil, but not over 3.5 goals. Therefore i find 1-0/2-0/3-0 attractive for a small bet.