FA Cup Tip: Crawley Town

This first tip revolves around the generosity of Ladbrokes. If you back a team in the FA Cup 3rd round or Scottish Cup 4th round to beat higher league opposition and the game ends in a draw, your bet will stand in the replay. This offer is only available with Ladbrokes.

Getting two bites at the cherry looks generous; focusing on the FA Cup, let’s see which matches qualify for this concession. The lower division team is in bold.

Friday, 6 January 2012
Liverpool v Oldham, 20:00

Saturday, 7 January 2012
Birmingham v Wolverhampton, 12:30
Dag & Red v Millwall, 13:00
Barnsley v Swansea, 15:00
Brighton v Wrexham, 15:00
Crawley Town v Bristol City, 15:00
Doncaster v Notts County, 15:00
Everton v Tamworth, 15:00
Fleetwood Town v Blackpool, 15:00
Fulham v Charlton, 15:00
Gillingham v Stoke, 15:00
MK Dons v QPR, 15:00
Macclesfield v Bolton, 15:00
Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury, 15:00
Norwich v Burnley, 15:00
Reading v Stevenage, 15:00
Sheffield Utd v Salisbury, 15:00
Swindon v Wigan, 15:00
Tottenham v Cheltenham, 15:00
Watford v Bradford, 15:00
West Brom v Cardiff, 15:00
Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa, 17:30

Sunday, 8 January 2012
Chelsea v Portsmouth, 15:00
Sheffield Wed v West Ham, 15:00
Peterborough v Sunderland, 15:30

Monday, 9 January 2012
Arsenal v Leeds, 19:45

To get the best value out of the offer you want a team who would have a chance to win a replay if it got that far. For example the likes of Tamworth and Cheltenham are unlikely to cause two shocks. i.e. getting a draw in their first game and following it up with a win in the replay.

That narrows my list down further, to the following games:
Crawley Town v Bristol City,
Doncaster v Notts County,
Fulham v Charlton,
MK Dons v QPR
Norwich v Burnley
Reading v Stevenage
West Brom v Cardiff
Arsenal v Leeds

Of those matches, the first one stands out. Crawley are flying high at the top of League 2 whilst Bristol City are languishing towards the bottom of the Championship. Although City have improved since Derek McInnes took over, avoiding relegation is still his aim, so expect plenty of changes to the line up. Despite recent wins, his team have scored three goals in their last six and are hardly prolific.

Crawley on the other hand can’t stop scoring. They have 47 goals in 24 league games making them top scorers in the division. The £70,000 they spent on Matt Tubbs in 2010 is considered big money in the lower leagues, but it was money well spent, he has 15 goals to his name this season.

Previously dubbed ‘the Manchester City of Non League’ due to their new found wealth, Crawley Town are a club on the up. One defeat in their last 16 league games is promotion winning form but the cup isn’t just a distraction. Last season they reached the fifth round, only to lose 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Ladbrokes are best price 6/4 on a Crawley home win. That is a bet I would happily take anyway, but with our money rolling over to the replay if the first match is drawn, it is even better value. 

FA Cup – Ladbrokes
Back a team in the FA Cup 3rd round or Scottish Cup 4th round to beat higher league opposition and, if the game ends in a draw, your bet will stand for the replay!