oddschecker have enlisted the support of WhoScored.com to present the key stats to keep in mind for your weekend FA Cup betting.
Can Fulham continue their fine form, or will history repeat itself?
Fulham (2.54) are one of only two teams - together with Liverpool (2.64) - who have scored more goals per game than Manchester City (2.30) in English league football this season.
The Cottagers have scored 22 league goals in 2022 alone, which is at least 10 more than any other English club in the top four tiers for this calendar year. Manchester City, meanwhile, have managed just four in three matches by comparison since the turn of the year.
However, City have won their last seven meetings with Fulham without conceding a goal - scoring 21 times in the process. Marco Silva has lost all six of his matches as a manager against Manchester City and all eight of his meetings with Pep Guardiola (including two in charge of Olympiacos vs Bayern) – in fact, Silva has only faced two managers more in his career.
Meanwhile, of all the managers Guardiola has a 100% record against, the only one he’s come up against more often than Silva is Eddie Howe (nine times). Manchester City to win but with Both Teams to Score (best price 8/5) looks like a value pick.
Will Ronaldo end his recent goal drought?
Only Manchester City and Mansfield (25) have earned more points from their last nine league matches than Middlesbrough, whose games are always tight - only one of their last 13 have been separated by more than a single goal. Only three teams have seen fewer goals per game than Boro (2.07) in the top four leagues (Tranmere, Wolves and Derby).
Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't made more than three starts without scoring since November 2019. Ronaldo, on a three-match dry run heading into Friday night’s match, has scored in four of his last seven meetings with Boro beginning with goals in both matches in the last meetings between these sides in the FA Cup in 2007.
The first of those was the equaliser in a 2-2 draw in the sixth round to take the match to a replay, in which Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game. He is also the last Manchester Utd player to have scored in a defeat to Boro back in 2005, with a last-minute consolation in a 4-1 loss at the Riverside (Gaizka Mendieta x2, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Yakubu on target for Boro).
It remains to be seen whether Ralf Rangnick will risk his star striker ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League trip to Burnley, but the Friday night schedule probably increases his expected minutes. And if he does play then the Portuguese marksman is best price Evens for a good reason, while United to win by a one-goal margin at best price 13/5 also catches the eye in the FA Cup betting stakes.
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Who are the likeliest goalscorers for the weekend?
Since making his debut in the competition in 2016, Kelechi Iheanacho has scored two more FA Cup goals than any other player (14). Of the players competing in the fourth round this weekend, the next top scorers over the same period are Heung-min Son, Harry Kane (both 12), Romelu Lukaku (11) and Gabriel Jesus (10). You can get 8/5 on Iheanacho to score anytime against Nottingham Forest.
The latter is the only player to have reached double figures since he made his FA Cup debut in 2019. Our football expert Tom Love correctly tipped Jesus to score anytime (Evens) in City’s round three win at Swindon – against Fulham at the Etihad you can get him at a better price of 7/5.
