Mark O’Haire’s FA Cup predictions for this weekend’s semi-finals at Wembley.
17:15 Saturday
Football betting analyst Mark O’Haire has two FA Cup predictions featuring a fouls angle in Man City’s return to action after their Champions League heartbreak.
His long shot bet for the weekend can still be backed at greater than 10/1 on Sky Bet, while his best bet for the Premier League can be found here.
Moises Caicedo Over 1.5 Fouls Committed
Advised Bet: 1pt @ 9/10 bet365
Manchester City’s treble dreams went up in smoke on Wednesday night and the Citizens squad could be forgiven for suffering a slight hangover in performance levels as they return to action for a crunch FA Cup semi-final showdown against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday afternoon. The market has already moved against Pep Guardiola’s men.
Chelsea have shown signs of progress under Mauricio Pochettino over the past eight weeks and the Blues will fancy their chances under the arch after impressing in home and away efforts against the league leaders in the Premier League.
I’m expecting Chelsea to be aggressive in their approach, especially in midfield where Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher will aim to disrupt City’s rhythm. Caicedo committed three fouls in each of his league dates against Man City, whilst 15 of his 26 EPL starts have delivered at least a couple of fouls – a repeat is 9/10 (1.90) with bet365.
15:30 Sunday
Liam Kitching Under 0.5 Shots
Advised Bet: 1pt @ 11/10 bet365
Manchester United’s dreadful defensive numbers have been well documented over the past month – astonishingly, no Premier League side has conceded more shots than Erik ten Hag’s team and the Red Devils rank inside the bottom-three for numerous unedifying performance data metrics this term.
Understandably, bookmakers are now attempting to guard against opposition sides racking up the shots against United, including second-tier Coventry ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final clash. However, there are opportunities to exploit when going against the grain, such as backing Sky Blues centre-half Liam Kitching not to have an attempt at goal in 90 minutes.
Kitching has posted Under 0.5 Shots in 19 (66%) of 29 Championship and FA Cup appearances for Coventry yet is an odds-against 11/10 (2.10) to follow suit this weekend despite stepping up in class.
