FA Cup Accumulator

It may not be ‘romantic’, but backing three sides to win at home to lower league opposition on Saturday afternoon looks attractive at best odds of 5/1 with WilliamHill. Sheffield Wednesday, Crawley Town and Swindon Town may be seen as rather big fish in their respective ponds, but they are where they are for a reason. We shouldn’t be afraid to follows the league ladder when the odds are right.

We start with Blackpool to beat Sheffield Wednesday at Bloomfield Road (19/20 WilliamHill). Ian Holloway’s side were holding their own in the Premier League this time last year and they could well return there as they sit one point outside the play-off zone in the Championship. The Tangerines are in good form with three wins and a draw in their last four outings while the Owls could be missing several key defenders. Close to evens money looks like a steal.

It’s a similar story with Hull City entertaining Crawley at the KC Stadium. Much is made of the money and progress at League 2 Crawley, but they are currently no better than Southend or Cheltenham in the fourth tier. Meanwhile, Nick Barmby’s side are fifth in the Championship after three wins on the spin. Again, odds of 19/20 (WilliamHill) on a home side winning that sits two divisions higher looks bafflingly generous.

Finally, we back a resurgent Leicester City side (8/13) to put the human headline that is Paolo di Canio in his place when his Swindon Town side head to the East Midlands. The Foxes are underperforming in mid-table in the Championship after splashing the cash and raising expectation levels. However, a 4-0 replay win in the last round against local rivals Forest followed by a 2-0 victory at high-flying Southampton augurs well. The Robins are fourth in League 2, which is fine, but they simply don’t have the same calibre of players.

At 5/1 (WilliamHill) we do well just to expect class to tell, especially when the superior teams are playing at home.