Aston Villa to banish ghosts of Christmas

Christian Crowther peruses the Opta stats for the upcoming FA Cup fixtures to pick out four bets...

 

Aston Villa v Ipswich, Saturday, 15:00

Aston Villa have won their last five FA Cup games at Villa Park, scoring exactly three times in each one

The FA Cup will come as a welcome relief for Aston Villa fans after a festive season which brought little cheer to the west midlands. If Paul Lambert needed geeing up then he should take heart from Villa's imposing record in this competition against lower-ranked teams, which has seen the Villans progress each of the last nine times they have faced such opposition.

 

Charlton v Huddersfield, Saturday, 15:00

Huddersfield have scored exactly once in 14 of their last 19 FA Cup away games, though they have netted more than once on only one occasion in this run

Another side who will be glad of a change of competition are Huddersfield. The Terriers have not recorded a Championship victory since early November and on Saturday hit their lowest ebb, finding themselves on the receiving end of a 6-1 battering at high-flying Leicester. This fixture produced a 1-1 scoreline back in November, and the Addicks have scored only once in both of their last two games at The Valley.

 

Crystal Palace v Stoke, Saturday, 15:00

The Potters have conceded just three goals in their last six away matches in the FA Cup, keeping four clean sheets in that time

Stoke may have shipped a few goals in their last two matches but the Potters still have the meanest defence in the Premier League beyond the top four. This is a competition Tony Pulis' side have enjoyed in recent seasons too, reaching the final in 2010/11, so expect the tracksuit-clad gaffer to send out his big guns at Selhurst Park. Palace have lost their last three FA Cup ties, and have only triumphed once in their last six.

 

Man City v Watford, Saturday, 15:00

Matej Vydra has scored four goals in his last two starts for Watford in all competitions

Despite the furore surrounding a training round dust up at Manchester City this week, you'd still expect the champions of England to prevail against Championship side Watford. However, Gianfranco Zola's entertaining young side are going really well in the second tier and will certainly be no pushovers. The Hornets have notched eight goals in their last three games with 20-year-old Udinese loanee Matej Vydra proving too hot for both Nottingham Forest and Brighton over Christmas with a pair of braces.

 

Recommended Bets:

Back Aston Villa to score two or more goals v Ipswich @ 1.92

Back Charlton and Huddersfield to draw 1-1 @ 7.0

Back Stoke to win to nil at Crystal Palace @ 4.5

Back Matej Vydra to score for Watford away to Man City @ 6.2

 

Bet HERE

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