FA Cup Third Round: Tips & Insight

The FA Cup third round features 32 ties spread across Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

There are four all-Premier League ties including a heavyweight clash at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday where 14-time winners Arsenal take on top-flight leaders Liverpool.

We have picked out bets from the third-round fixtures at Brentford, Coventry, Middlesbrough and QPR and our four-game acca pays out at 11/1.

Tip 1 – Wolves to beat Brentford @ 2/1

Wolves rounded off 2023 with three successive Premier League wins and they can start 2024 on the right footing by defeating Brentford in their FA Cup third-round tie in west London.

Gary O’Neil’s side moved up to 11th in the top flight after Saturday’s impressive 3-0 victory at home to Everton.

Confidence is rising and Wolves look strong enough to cope with the considerable loss of Hwang Hee-Chan, who has joined up with South Korea’s squad for the Asian Cup.

Wolves have been boosted by the recent return of Pedro Neto and appear to have a few more offensive options than Brentford, who are missing Ivan Toney (ban), Bryan Mbeumo (ankle injury) and Yoann Wissa (international duty).

The Bees have suffered five successive Premier League defeats and started the year with just four points separating them from the drop zone. Their depleted forward line is an obvious handicap and it puts a lot of pressure on the defence to keep things tight.

However, Thomas Frank’s side have gone nine matches without keeping a clean sheet and they looked a soft touch at the weekend when losing 3-1 at Crystal Palace.

Ivan Toney’s late-January return could assist Brentford’s quest for top-flight survival but it may come too late for them to have any sort of FA Cup run.

Tip 2 – Coventry to beat Oxford @ 13/20

Coventry have been relentlessly climbing the Championship but they can set aside their playoff push by defeating League One Oxford in the FA Cup third round.

The Sky Blues’ main priority is to reach the second-tier playoffs and they are reasonably well placed with only three points separating them from sixth place.

They have risen from 20th to eighth over the last six weeks and have plenty to focus on in the final four months of the league campaign.

However, their manager, Mark Robins, was an FA Cup winner in his playing days with Manchester United (1990) and has already sampled knockout glory with Coventry, who he steered to EFL Trophy success in the 2016-2017 campaign.

Robins should take the third-round clash seriously and his side may have too much quality for injury-hit Oxford, who have been inconsistent over recent weeks.

Des Buckingham’s side have won just three of their last eight league matches and slipped from second to fifth in the third-tier table. Oxford picked up a welcome 2-1 victory at Charlton on New Year’s Day but the fixture at Coventry looks a fair bit tougher and an away defeat is on the cards.

Tip 3 – Aston Villa to beat Middlesbrough @ 3/5

Aston Villa are through to the last 16 in the Europa Conference League and handily placed in the Premier League title race but they will not be taking the FA Cup lightly and can defeat Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

Knockout competitions make plenty of appeal to Villa boss Unai Emery, who has won four Europa League titles, two French Cups and two French League Cups.

Emery’s team had a December wobble with a draw at home to Sheffield United (1-1) and loss at Manchester United (2-3), but they got back on track at the weekend when Douglas Luiz’s 89th-minute penalty secured a 3-2 success at home to Burnley.

Villa might have preferred a simpler FA Cup third-round draw, but their task at Middlesbrough has been made easier by a number of absentees for the home side.

Boro’s injury list has been into double figures for several weeks and the North East side are further hampered by the loss of Seny Dieng, Sam Silvera and Riley McGree because of international call-ups.

Michael Carrick’s side lost 3-1 at home to Coventry on New Year’s Day and they are unlikely to fare any better against Villa.

Tip 4 – Bournemouth to beat QPR @ 11/20

Bournemouth’s seven-game unbeaten sequence came to an end with a harsh 3-1 loss at Tottenham on Sunday but they can avoid a second dose of capital punishment by defeating QPR at Loftus Road.

The Cherries were outstanding for the majority of December and are comfortably placed in the Premier League with ten points separating them from the bottom three.

They have won six of their last eight matches and should have too much quality for second-tier strugglers QPR, who dropped to 23rd in the Championship after Monday’s 2-1 loss at home to Cardiff.

Tip 5 - Both teams to score in Sunderland v Newcastle - 3/5

Newcastle are struggling in the Premier League and have won just one of their last seven matches, so arguably the last thing manager Eddie Howe needs is an away FA Cup trip to arch-rivals Sunderland.

The Magpies cannot afford to sit back in such a massive game and potential Cup success could have a big bearing on Howe’s future.

Similarly, Sunderland could have been forgiven for prioritising their Championship playoff push if they had received any other draw, but their fans will demand a performance in their first game against Newcastle in nearly eight years.

It would also be a big boost for new manager Michael Beale, and they should be confident after five wins in their last seven matches at the Stadium of Light, so this highly anticipated fixture should not disappoint.

Tip 6 - Both teams to score in Blackburn v Cambridge - 10/13

Blackburn have taken just one point from their last five Championship games, and there have been 19 goals in those matches, so there could be plenty of action when League One Cambridge head north to Ewood Park on Saturday.

Rovers have kept just one clean sheet on their own patch all season, with 12 of their 15 home games having featured at least three goals.

Cambridge are 18th in League One, but they could still make their presence felt against a team who are struggling for confidence.

United are winless in their last 11 matches on the road, but they have nothing to lose and have scored in each of their last three on their travels, so they could continue that run.

Tip 7 - Both teams to score in Coventry v Oxford - 4/6

Oxford are in the thick of the League One playoff race and could make a big impression at Coventry after scoring a late winner to claim a 2-1 victory at Charlton on New Year’s Day.

Both teams have scored in five of United’s last six matches and they have netted in all but three of their 15 away matches this term.

They certainly know where the net is when they are on their travels, which is emphasised by the fact they have scored more than once in eight of those games.

Confidence is also high in the Sky Blues’ camp as Mark Robins’ side are beginning to look like the team who got so close to gaining a place in the Premier League last season.

City have claimed impressive victories against Sunderland and Middlesbrough in the last few weeks and suffered just one defeat at the Coventry Building Society Arena this season, but both teams have scored in five of their last eight games and that could happen again on Saturday.

Tip 8 - Both teams to score in Norwich v Bristol Rovers - 4/6

It has been an up-and-down season for Norwich in the Championship, but they look to have got their act together.

However, while they are unbeaten in their last five matches at Carrow Road, they have conceded in six of their last ten games at their Norfolk base. That should encourage League One Bristol Rovers for their trip there on Saturday.

The Pirates are tenth in the table but nine points off the playoffs, so they have no reason to sit back in this one.

Both teams have scored in each of their last ten matches and they have netted in each of their last 11 road games, so expect them to be positive despite playing away at a team from a higher division.