Written by Cornermanden. The author’s opinions and predictions are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Unibet. Odds and details may change between the time of writing and when placing a bet – always check before betting.

Who will go to Wembley? I’ve taken a look at all this weekend’s matches in the magical FA Cup, and these are my FA Cup quarter-finals betting tips!

In Good Kompany
Manchester City – Burnley

Vincent Kompany has worked wonders with a fairly average Burnley squad. They’ve gone from being a direct football team who always tried to get the ball forward on every opportunity, to becoming more sophisticated and well playing. Going to Manchester City for a chance to play at Wembley is obviously huge, and I can imagine that this draw was bittersweet for the Burnley players. Travelling to the Etihad to play the best is a great test, but at the same time you’re so close to Wembley and a Semi-final, so an easier draw would probably have been the preferred option. It’s difficult to say what kind of team that Man City will field here, but it’s probably a really strong one either way. Looking at the price, 1.18 for City to get the job done after 90 minutes sounds about right. I wouldn’t touch this game before seeing the line-ups.

A Championship Team At Wembley
Sheffield United – Blackburn Rovers

There will be at least one Championship team in the Semi-final, as either Rovers or Blades will advance from this encounter. I have to be honest and say that I don’t watch a great deal of Championship; my priority is the Premier League and League One. But I do know that this is a game with plenty riding on it between two teams who seldom compete in high margin games. Under 2.5 goals seems like a decent pick.

Premier League v League Two
Brighton & Hove Albion – Grimsby Town 

I would think that Grimsby fans and all the people connected to the club are gutted that they haven’t been handed a home draw at this stage in the tournament. To get here, they’ve brushed aside Plymouth Argyle (one of the best teams in League One), Cambridge United (an alright League One side), Burton Albion (another ok League One side), Luton Town over two legs (a top Championship side) and famously Southampton last time around.

You’d be very fond of Grimsby to give them more than a miniscule chance when they go to the AmEX, but Paul Hurst’s (a manager that I know quite well from his short stint at Ipswich Town) have beaten the odds for every game so far. Both teams played in midweek, but Grimsby had the “luxury” of having an extra day’s rest on their Premier League counterparts. Going away to Sutton United and winning 1-0 with this game in the back of their minds is very impressive. 

Now, let’s look at the odds here. Brighton at 1.11 gives us next to nothing in terms of value, quite clearly, but I do think that Brighton win to nil at 1.74 is worth a little look. Three out of their last four games have resulted in a win to nil for Brighton’s sake, so it would make sense to back something similar here. The bookmakers actually think that it’s more probable that Brighton would beat Palace (regardless of how), as the odds were 1.45 for that to occur, than winning against Grimsby without conceding. I don’t know, to be fair, but that would be my pick in that game if I had to side with The Seagulls. The corner odds are ridiculous, to put it frankly. You can bet on Brighton to get over 8.5 corners. I wouldn’t, because the odds are shockingly low: 1.98. 

Playing Two Games A Week
Manchester United – Fulham

Manchester United have had a huge game load for the last few months. That’s obviously what you want; it means that you compete at the top and go places in competitions, but at the same time, it can catch up with you and prove to be too much for a team or certain players. They don’t rotate very much either, so the demands on individual players are staggering.

This will be their 22nd game of 2023, which is quite ridiculous when you realise that we’re in the middle of March. Things like that will catch up with players at some stage, so the question remains as to whether this will be the time or not. Fulham have not found their feet that much of late, and were well beaten against Arsenal – especially in the 1st half. I think you can find some value in going against United here, while I still think that they’re correct favourites. In betting, the clue oftentimes is to identify the start of a trend and capitalise on it before the market sees it. 

Conclusion

A couple of suggestions for me as part of my FA Cup quarter-finals betting tips, but nothing that I will go on record to propose. Under 2.5 goals in Blades vs. Blackburn is probably wise, but I haven’t seen enough of the teams this season. 1.74 for Brighton to beat Grimsby to nil is surely a decent value bet, so that would be my only recommendation. There’s too big of a discrepancy between the home win and win to nil.