Home Hotpots Or Away Bankers? 

It’s the fourth round of the FA Cup today and nine of the 16 ties start at the traditional time of 3pm. In the olden days every league and Cup match kicked off at the same time but things have changed and the TV companies dictate when matches start. The 3pm kick-offs are not available for live viewing except in some pubs that invest in a dodgy box that gives customers access to every channel under the sun from all over the world. The home team are the favourites in four of the fixtures that begin at the regular time today. The trick is to find three away bankers that in a treble would give you a decent return. Three Premier League clubs are on the road against opponents from a lower division and class could tell. Our outright tip to win the Cup are LEICESTER at 20/1 with Ladbrokes.

The three team multiple on Brighton (at Middlesbrough), Swansea (at Notts County) and West Ham (at Wigan) pays 18/1 with bet365. However, those three travelling sides are in the bottom half of the Premier League. Staying in the top division is paramount but a Cup run is good for the fans. Wigan won the FA Cup in the 2012/13 season but were also relegated to the Championship. That was a slippery slope and the club are now in League One. The supporters had a great experience at Wembley on Cup Final day but its debatable whether that has made up for a fall from grace into the third tier. Motivation and team selection are key today in those three ties and going the other way you can back three home victories at 20/1 with William Hill.

The Cheltenham Festival begins seven weeks on Tuesday and its trials day at the track. Since 2008 21 runners at this fixture have won races at the meeting that matters most in the following March. In all but two Cleeve Hurdles over the last 10 years a runner has won a race at the festival less than two months later. Only the Crest Nicholson Handicap Chase on today’s card has not provided a winning pointer for the festival. Five winners of the Cleeve Hurdle over the last decade won the World (Stayers’ Hurdle) in March. FINIAN’S OSCAR can win the race today at 4/1 with Coral and then become a leading contender for the horse’s target at the big meeting.