Sport
Dave Tindall’s FA Cup Pick 4 Preview
Upsets are what springs to mind when the FA Cup weekend comes round, and Dave Tindall has backed a few potential upsets in his syndicate ticket that he has previewed here, aiming for £7,500. Get involved here.
Fleetwood v Leicester
Leicester boss Claude Puel has enjoyed the Cups since becoming a boss in England. He took Southampton to the League Cup final last season and, with the Foxes, only lost to Man City on penalties in the quarter-finals of the same comp this term.
In fact, his only defeats in Cup competitions are to Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal.
Leicester have a big enough squad to send out a decent team here and they run into a Fleetwood side struggling in front of their own fans in League One. Uwe Rosler’s men have lost their last three home games and are languishing in mid-table.
The big storyline is that Jamie Vardy comes up against his former club and after he sat out the 3-0 win over Huddersfield last time with a slight hamstring injury, the England striker should be fit to help Leicester to victory.
Prediction: 0-2, 0-3, 1-3
Newcastle v Luton
Rafa Benitez is just about keeping Newcastle’s heads above relegation waters so, as frustrating as it might be to the Toon Army, this is hardly a priority.
The Mapgies have already lost at home in the League Cup this season to lower league opposition (3-2 extra-time defeat to Nottingham Forest) while they haven’t managed a single goal in their last three outings at St. James’ Park.
Luton are flying high in League Two and top the table by four points. They wobbled with a 4-0 defeat at Port Vale but hit back with a 4-2 home success over Lincoln on New Year’s Day.
They’ve scored twice in six of their last seven away games and this is a game that has ‘shock’ potential.
Prediction: 1-0, 1-1, 2-2, 1-2
Coventry v Stoke
Another surprise could be in the offing here – although some Stoke fans may even see it as predictable should their side slump to defeat at a League Two side.
Coventry are third in England’s fourth tier with eight wins, two draws and three defeats on their own patch. They’ve also got the tightest home defence having conceded just seven times in those 13 games.
With four straight home wins, their tails will be up against a Stoke side which has lost seven of their last 10 in the Premier League.
The Potters also crashed out of the League Cup to Championship side Bristol City when losing 2-0 at Ashton Gate earlier this season and fell at this stage in last year’s FA Cup via a home defeat against another non-Premier League side, Wolves.
Prediction: 1-0, 2-1, 1-1
Norwich v Chelsea
Apart from that slip-up against Bradford a couple of seasons ago, Chelsea have been expert at avoiding banana skins, having progressed from 20 of their last 21 FA Cup ties against non-Premier League sides.
They’ve also dominated Norwich in recent seasons with 10 wins and three draws in the last 13 meetings.
Chelsea’s fringe players have stepped up when asked and, after this, they have a League Cup semi-final first leg to look forward to.
Norwich are 13th in the Championship and all of the sides above them have scored more goals at home. They’ve only lost four at Carrow Road but, as two of those were to leading pair Wolves and Derby, Chelsea should show also their class and win with ease.
Prediction: 0-3, Other Away Win
