FA Cup Outright Tip: Tottenham

Every year we hear the same grumble about the FA Cup. The competition is devalued and the blame is usually parked at the doors of the big clubs who don’t play their strongest XI.

This is partly correct, the priority is to get into the Premier League or stay there, with the better teams focused on the Champions League. Those who hark back to the glory days of the FA Cup have to accept this is a product of the modern game.

If the blame lies with the ‘big’ clubs then why have five of the last six FA Cup winners finished in the top three of the Premier League?

The top clubs all shuffle their pack for the FA Cup. It just happens they have squads that are strong enough to win regardless of the XI they put out.

With the top two drawn against each other in the third round, it is dangerous to side with either Manchester team. That leaves us with Tottenham.

They currently lie third in the Premier League and look a good bet to be there in May. They are also blessed with one of the strongest squads in the league. With the likes of Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone coming back from injury combined with Roman Pavlyuchenko upfront, they almost have a second Premier League eleven. This strength in depth shouldn’t be tested with a tie at home to Cheltenham but it will become vital in later rounds of the competition.

With Man City and Chelsea both recently triumphant, the FA Cup tends to be won by teams with the strongest squads. Tottenham fall into that category and are overpriced at best odds of 8/1 with Coral.

*FA Cup BOGOF - Coral
Back any Premier League team and Coral will give you a free bet on a non-Premier League side. For each Premier League team selected only one non-Premier League team can be selected. Your original bet will be matched up to a maximum stake of £200 win, or £100 each-way. The offer applies to singles only.

To capitalise on this BOGOF offer we will plump with Reading at 80/1 (Coral) as our free bet. The Royals have a good cup pedigree in recent years and are going well in the Championship this season.