FA Cup 4th Round

There are 32 teams left in the competition, five all-Premiership ties mean there will be a host of lower league clubs looking for a financially rewarding cup run. 

Manchester United are favourites to lift the trophy at 4/1 whilst Arsenal are 5/1 having overcome their tricky tie with Leeds. Manchester City are 51/10 to lift the trophy, they take on Paul Ince’s Notts County. 

Everton vs. Chelsea (29/01/2011 - 12.30) 

The holders have a tricky tie at Everton, they got back to winning ways last Monday after an impressive 4-0 win over Bolton which included an excellent Didier Drogba goal. 

Chelsea often struggle against Everton and this fixture, odds of 5/2 for this game to finish all square is an attractive proposition.  

Everton will see this season as their opportunity to have a good cup run, if they can get past this round and the draw is kind there is no reason why they cannot reach the final. The Toffees are 18/1 to lift the trophy and worth an each way bet. 

Southampton v Manchester United (29/01/2011 - 17.15) 

Sir Alex travels to the south coast to take on the Saints, the game is a sell out and the locals are bound to very vocal as they hope their side cause a shock. 

It is never advisable to bet against Manchester United especially when they are unbeaten in the league and on the back of two league wins, but the high flying League One side should not be written off. They have a talented youth side; their key players will be joint top scorer Adam Lallana and the highly sought after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who could play his last game for the club. 

Southampton are an attractive 7/1 whilst United are 4/9, the latter could be used to make up an accumulator but this could end up as a cup shock.  

Fulham v Tottenham (30/01/2011 - 16:30) 

An interesting tie in London on Sunday, high flying Spurs take on struggling Fulham. Mark Hughes enjoyed lifting the FA Cup as a player four times but has not come close as a manager and is unlikely to do it this year. 

Tottenham have a busy schedule over next month with the tasty tie against AC Milan rapidly approaching but Harry Redknapp will feel his side can go all the way. They are missing Gareth Bale but should still be strong enough to overcome the West London club. 

The smart money would be to take advantage of the 7/5 odds and add it to an accumulator including Manchester United.  

Cup Shocks 

There will be shocks; the question is which teams will make the headlines.  

There are four games that could provide a shock: 

Nottingham Forest travel to West Ham, they are 11/4 to surprise the Hammers who could be tired after losing in extra time to Birmingham in the Carling Cup oon Wednesday. Forest are on an excellent run that has seen them move up to fifth in the Championship. With the likes of Lewis McGugan, Marcus Tudgay and Robert Earnshaw in the squad there will always be goals from the away side.  

After shocking Newcastle in the last round, there is no reason Stevenage cannot knock Reading out. The Championship side managed to upset Premiership West Brom in the third round but this time they could be on the receiving end of a shock - The home side are 5/2 to progress to the fifth round. 

It may be Blue Square Premier against League Two as Crawley Town take on Torquay United but one of this lower league sides will be in the fifth round. The non-league side travel to Devon with over 2000 fans looking to progress. The excellent Craig McAllister and Matt Tubbs up front for the Town make 13/5 for an away win a very attractive bet. 

League One leaders Brighton travel to Championship surprise package Watford, the South Coast club have won four out of their last five games including a cup victory over Portsmouth. They are 7/2 to beat Malky Mackay’s side who have won seven out of their last eight games. Even with the Hertfordshire’s potent strike force the away side could cause a shock here.