Man City, Arsenal and Fulham to win

It may not seem daring to back Man City, Arsenal or even Fulham today but the treble starts to appeal at 9/4 with PaddyPower.  Yesterday saw one shock with Chelsea exiting on penalties, one scare as Man Utd were run close by Crawley but two expected victories as Birmingham and Stoke cruised to 3-0 home wins against lower league opponents.

Defeat for either Man City or Arsenal today is unthinkable. Admittedly, Mancini’s men are making a meal of FA Cup progress thus far having taken two attempts to see off Leicester before a late equaliser was required at Notts County, just to get to today’s replay. But they performed admirably in the Manchester derby last weekend and will surely have enough quality to do the job at home.

The danger for Arsenal is that they must travel to Brisbane Road to face a League One side unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions. Leyton Orient’s confidence will therefore be high but Arsene Wenger will be keen to snuff that out with an early goal or two. The Gunners’ form is hardly shabby anyway - they’re unbeaten in nine - and the gulf in class will surely be telling over 90 minutes. Can you really back a side who beats Barcelona on Wednesday to stumble against League One opponents on the Sunday?

The toughest game to call is the all Premiership tie between Fulham and Bolton at Craven Cottage and this is where the treble gains its value. Bolton may be four places higher in the Premier League but Fulham are much improved in recent weeks and stuffed Spurs 4-0 in the previous round. They have won five and drawn one of their last six at home and this could be the difference on the day.