FA Cup Predictions > Nov 8th - 12th

[StevieDay1983]

The FA Cup 1st Round is coming up this weekend. Personally, it's one of my favourite weekends of action in the football calendar. I love seeing non-league teams get their time in the limelight. Here are the odds. Yes, it's a minefield but that means you can find some real value around. Particularly keen to hear what audacious accumulators you have all got in mind because if an 8-fold was ever going to come in... it's here! 

[malabgd]

Dulwich Hamlet vs Carlisle Utd

Dulwich Hamlet

Doubtful: -

Out (injuries/other): -

Suspended: -

 

Carlisle Utd

Doubtful: Stefan Scougall (8/2 m), Jack Bridge (16/0 m)

Out (injuries/other): Christie Elliott (14/1 d), Kelvin Etuhu (0/0 m)

Suspended: -

 

Daily updated injuries and suspensions information from more then 100 football leagues and competitions worldwide at: www.injuriesandsuspensions.com

[Darran]

I never understand why tipsters say they won't bet on the FA Cup. I love betting on the FA Cup as it offers the chance to land some lumpy prices as I have done over the years. The 1st Round is my favourite weekend of the season and hopefully I can make it a profitable one. I have 7 singles and a 5 team acca across the weekend.

Dulwich Hamlet v Carlisle

Gloucester City might be my main team, but I have been going to Dulwich games for around 10 years now. At that point they were lucky to get 300 people through the turnstiles and now you can sometimes add a 0 on to that figure. This season alone they are averaging nearly 2000 for their league games and not surprisingly Friday night's match is a sell out. Fortunately I have been able to get hold of a ticket so will be there hopefully to witness a upset and Dulwich's first ever visit to the 2nd round. I think there is a fair chance that I might. On the face of it backing a team who haven't won a league game since August 24th two divisions below their opponents might not be wise, but Dulwich are nowhere near as bad as that stat suggests. I put them up in the last round when they beat Havant who are the best team in their division so that was no mean feat. Carlisle come into this having only won 2 away games in the league all season and they were both against teams below them in the table. Their win against Macclesfield last week was their first in 7 and given the troubles with them at the moment that is hardly proof they are in good form again. They will not fancy this one bit. Champion Hill is very compact so the crowd will be very close to the action add into the fact that the game is on the BBC so the Carlisle players will know the pressure is on them. Gavin Rose has always set Dulwich up to play football the right way and if they can be clinical in front of goal I am certain they will get the chances to win the game. I think 16/5 (Bet365 and Betfair) is just on the right side of value and hopefully they can get the weekend off to a profitable start.

Carshalton v Boston

An all Non-League tie here with BetVictor Isthmian Premier Carshalton hosting Natonal League North side Boston. I like the chances of there being an upset here as Carshalton have been hard to beat all season. They have lost just 3 times in the league and only one of those have come in their last 10 although they have drawn their last 5. They have already caused an upset in the previous round having beaten Dagenham & Redbridge so hosting a team from the level below should hold no fears for them. Boston have struggled on their travels in the league and they have only beaten Kettering and AFC Telford away from home. That Telford game was last week, but they clearly have issues away from home given they are unbeaten at home. I think at over 2/1 the home side are value to cause an upset.

Stourbridge v Eastleigh

I opposed Eastleigh last week given the amount of injuries they had and the fact Harrogate were in decent form, but Harrogate had a bit of a stinker and gifted them 3 of their 4 goals. Even though Stourbridge are two levels below it actually wouldn't surprise me if they give them a harder game than they had last week. Also Eastleigh have looked pretty poor on the road at times this season. Stourbridge have only played 11 league games so far given their cup run and they have lost just twice. Chances are they will be fighting it out for promotion again this season and their current position of 11th is a bit misleading. I think this is one game which will be much closer than the odds and leagues positions suggest.

Walsall v Darlington

The biggest price selection is Darlington and obviously backing a National League North side to win at a League 2 side should be a big price, but given Walsall's form at the moment Darlington might just be capable of causing an upset. They have lost 6 games on the bounce now and will be coming into this low on confidence. It was a bit disappointing Darlington couldn't beat a 10 man Hereford last week, but it did continue the unbeaten run and they are better than their league position suggests. A risky bet for sure, but I do think they are overpriced to win the game.

Gateshead v Oldham

Gateshead let me down last Saturday when under performing against Guiseley last week. They hadn't conceded at home for over nine hours and then duly defended badly and let in 3 in one game. They bounced straight back on Tuesday though beating Curzon 3-0. Granted Oldham are going to be at a very different level from Curzon, but they are coming into this game in shocking form and they clearly are one of the worst teams in League 2. They have only won once away all season and in their last 10 games they have only beaten Walsall and Morecombe which doesn't say an awful lot. As long as Gateshead don't defend like they did last week, and the evidence suggests that was a one off, then they have a real chance of causing an upset here in my view.

Macclesfield v Kingstonian

This game might not even go ahead because of the players strike and it is no surprise that some bookies have stopped betting on the game and that the price of the away side has come in from around 8/1. Kingstonian were one of my ante-post bets in their league this season and they have been frustrating as they haven't won as many matches as they ought to have done, but on their day they are a good side and given all that is going on at Macclesfield it looks a sporting play. Even if the players do get paid they aren't going to be in a good place and if they don't then there must be a chance that Macclesfield play the youth team just to get the game on. If that happens then that Kingstonian price will come in plenty more.

Wrexham v Rochdale

Rochdale are in the bottom half of League 1 and have lost their last 3 games, but I think they can beat Wrexham here. 2 of those defeats were against top of the table Ipswich and 4th place Oxford. I opposed Wrexham last week, but they beat Bromley thanks to a cracking goal and I do think Wrexham will improve under Dean Keates, but they still have a little way to go and I think they will struggle to beat a League 1 side at the moment. I am surprised that Rochdale are on the drift and they look a good price at odds against.

FA Cup Acca

I like 5 teams at odds on to win over the weekend. Solihull travel to Oxford City and they ought to have too much for them. Chorley have found life a struggle in the National League and they have started leaking goals again after keeping a few clean sheets. They travel to Mansfield and it would be a surprise if they could get anything out of it. Rotherham's away form is much better than their home form and they can prove to be too strong at Maidenhead. On Sunday Northampton should be more than capable of beating Chippenham and in one of the live games I can see Oxford United easily beating Hayes & Yeading. As an aside it wasn't that long ago I went to watch that game as a league match and now their are 4 levels between them!

Dulwich Hamlet 1pt @ 16/5 with Bet365 and Betfair

Carshalton 1pt @ 21/10 with Marathon

Stourbridge 1pt @ 100/30 with Betfair

Darlington 1pt @ 17/2 with Bet365

Gateshead 1pt @ 100/30 with Bet365

Kingstonian 1pt @ 21/4 with Bet365

Rochdale 2pts @ 13/10 with Betway

Solihull/Mansfield/Northampton/Oxford United/Rotherham 1pt acca @ 6.3/1 with Marathon

[StevieDay1983]

Dover vs Southend

The FA Cup action starts tonight and @Darran has given a comprehensive take on a number of matches. Definitely follow his advice. I'm going to expand on his thoughts by covering the match between National League side Dover and League One club Southend that is scheduled to kick-off at 12pm GMT on Sunday at the Crabble Athletic Ground in Dover.

Dover are having a rather mediocre season with the club sitting in 12th place in the league table right now. The Whites are only 4 points off the play-off pace with a game in hand on the around them. Manager Andy Hessenthaler will be looking to get a big-name scalp on his record here. The former Gillingham and Leyton Orient gaffer saw his side beat Weymouth away 2-1 in the last round of qualifying to reach this stage of the competition. It is only the fourth time in the club's history that they've reached this stage of the competition.

Southend have really struggled so far this season. Kevin Bond was sacked back in September and replaced by former Macclesfield manager Sol Campbell. It's been three league defeats for Campbell since he took over. The day before he was officially appointed the club lost 7-1 at home to Doncaster so he was never going to come out of this job badly was he? The only way was up! A cup run would be exactly what the doctor ordered for this team that is shot of morale and confidence but these are also the type of games that can put the nail in the coffin of their season.

You know me. I love a cup game where it's David versus Goliath. There's a reason why the TV cameras are at this match. They smell blood. I think there could very well be as well. In any cup match like this it's always worth backing the underdog. I can see Dover winning this game and at the price being offered on that outcome I think it would be a missed opportunity to not take the punt.

Dover to Win @ 2.75 with Bet365

Draw HT/ Dover FT @ 7.00 with Betfair

@Mindfulness, @Pep004, @MaliMisko12, @betcatalog, @sajtion, @godofhorses, @Tiffy, @waynecoyne, @The Sexless Innkeeper, @Magic0024, @malabgd, @Duke_Tm, @dogmeister, @Arkadi Manucharov, @derbent, @fat, @allyhibs, @6avin24, @discipline, @the bastardian, @Bronxie, @Bett, @KikoCy, @teddybear3011, @markus808, @allthethings, @Kenton Schweppes, @vasilli07, @Dylan Lynch, @neilovan, @JKos, @zemo91, @kulikTS, @mrclubbie, @Judeksi, @Henind666, @Dave1X2, @canaries91, @jazzman02, @sajtion, @Darran, @postmanplod69, @eddiem, @bartonbank, @yossa6133, @Teodore, @thinkpink63, @Carovie, @i1_principe, @MrJol, @shrewd., @AussieDex. and @AndreBR.

[Darran]

I did have Dover on my original shortlist given how bad Southend have been. However with Campbell only recently taking over and it being an easier game than usual I decided the Dover price wasn't really big enough. They have been shocking at home this season as well which is another concern, but I can fully understand why people will be wanting to back Dover.

[Darran]

Not to be for Dulwich tonight, but they played well and gave it their all. Just a shame they gave away two poor goals in the first half and then when they got themselves back in it Carlisle scored what will be one of the goals of the round. Impressive though for Dulwich to have more possession and easy to see why Carlisle are doing as badly as they are. 

[Darran]

Kingstonian are now favs for their game as the Macclesfield player's have confirmed they won't be playing so it looks set to be the youth team instead

[Mindfulness]

On 11/7/2019 at 11:26 PM, Darran said:

Solihull/Mansfield/Northampton/Oxford United/Rotherham 1pt acca @ 6.3/1 with Marathon

[Darran]

A profitable weekend, but if only Darlo and Stourbridge had of held on it would have been a fantastic weekend. Sounds like Gateshead deserved more out of their game as well.

[StevieDay1983]

Harrogate Town vs Portsmouth

The FA Cup festival of football continues this Monday night when National League side Harrogate Town host League One club Portsmouth in a 7:45pm GMT kick-off at the CNG Stadium. Two tiers may separate these two sides but form and league position often goes out of the window when the bright lights and television cameras shine down on a game like this. Can we get more profit from what has been a very successful weekend in this section?

Harrogate Town are competing at the top end of the National League this season. Simon Weaver's side are 7th in the table and are currently just 4 points off the top of the table. The club will be hoping to build on last season's achievement of reaching the play-offs by going a step further and earning promotion to the Football League. A narrow 2-1 win away to Halifax Town in the 4th Qualifying Round saw them get to this stage of the competition.

Portsmouth have not had the best of starts to their league season. Kenny Jackett remains in charge but the club are in 13th place. On the plus side, results have improved lately. Pompey have now only suffered 1 defeat in their last 8 league matches. That's quite the turn around given the fact they'd only managed 1 win in their previous 7 league games. An FA Cup run would help Jackett to rebuild the team morale so I'm quietly optimistic they'll be well up for this one.

Our predictions this weekend have been fairly decent and shows how effective we can all be when we put our heads together. We've seen a fair share of giant killings this week in the FA Cup 1st Round but I'm not sure I can see one here. I'm torn between backing Portsmouth to win by 1 goal or going for a -1 handicap. I think I'll take a punt and go for the latter.

Portsmouth -1 @ 2.40 with Paddy Power

Portsmouth HT/FT @ 2.30 with BetVictor

[StevieDay1983]

Here are the odds for the final game scheduled for the FA Cup 1st Round now they are available.