Sunderland: Fancied to roll Arsenal over
Matty Briggs is gunning for Sunderland in the cup after last week's three winning tips in the Treatment Room and success for the 2/1 Value Bet.
WBA delivered in a big way last weekend as they smashed neighbours Wolves 5-1 to land @MattPBriggs' 2/1 headline tip. And despite the weather wreaking havoc with the fixtures there were more winners in last weekend's new-look Numbers Game as our Treatment Room provided three from three. Reading (1/2), Hull (8/11) and Bristol Rovers (11/10) were fancied and they all managed wins - with the treble paying around 9/2. Danny Graham also scored for Swansea as one of our Hot-Shots landed at 11/8, while Ipswich v Middlesbrough was abandoned - wiping out Town as our tip in the Famous Last Words. The FA Cup takes prominence this weekend and Sunderland have got the vote to gain revenge for last weekend's Premier League defeat by Arsenal.
- VALUE BET - Sunderland to beat Arsenal at 9/5.
Sunderland were unfortunate to lose 2-1 to Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend with the Gunners scoring late on through Thierry Henry, who has now returned to New York. That was only Sunderland's second defeat in 12 games, with the other reverse coming at Chelsea. Martin O'Neill is sure to pick a full-strength side for the FA Cup clash, as he did in the previous round against Middlesbrough, while his opposite number Arsene Wenger could make changes. The Gunners, who are now in fourth spot, made changes in the third-round win over Leeds and with key league games with Tottenham and Liverpool up next, Wenger could shuffle his pack. The midweek thumping at Milan is sure to have hit the Gunners' confidence too and Sunderland will be in no mood to go easy on them.
- WHO'S HOT -
Reading (5/6) have won their last three Championship games and host Burnley (16/5) (Fri).
Charlton (evens) are seven games unbeaten in League One and travel to Tranmere (13/5).
Brighton (11/1) are seven games unbeaten in the Championship and travel to Liverpool (2/9) (Sun).
Blackpool (6/1) are seven games unbeaten in the Championship and travel to Everton (4/9).
Swindon (8/11) have won their last six League Two games and travel to Hereford (7/2).
Torquay (8/11) have won their last seven League Two games and host Bradford (7/2).
Barnet (19/10) are five games unbeaten in League Two and host Shrewsbury (11/8).
Ipswich (17/10) have won their last three Championship games and host Cardiff (6/4).
- WHO'S NOT -
Walsall (11/10) are seven games without a win in League One and host Wycombe (23/10).
Peterborough (11/8) are seven games without a win in the Championship and host Bristol City (19/10).
Tranmere (13/5) are eight games without a win in League One and host Charlton (evens).
Stoke (11/10) have lost their last four in the Premier League and travel to Crawley (12/5) (Sun).
Gillingham (19/10) have lost their last four League Two games and travel to P Vale (11/8).
Macclesfield (17/10) have lost their last six League Two games and host Aldershot (6/4).
N Forest (5/6) are five Championship games without a win and host Coventry (16/5).
- TRADERS' VIEW - Sky Bet don't fancy Chelsea on Saturday in the FA Cup and are not keen on Sheffield Wednesday either."Chelsea are a team we will be looking to take on this weekend. 2/7 looks plenty short enough for the Blues who have been struggling massively under Andre Villas-Boas, while Birmingham are the form team in the Championship."Also a side to leave out of your accumulator this weekend is Sheffield Wednesday at 21/20. The Owls promotion push has faltered of late and Chesterfield will be pumped up for this derby. The Spireites manager ex-Wednesday player John Sheridan will also be looking to put one over on his former club."
- BOGEY TEAMS -
Chelsea (2/7) have lost just one of the last 19 matches in all competitions v Birmingham (17/2).
Ipswich (17/10) lost one of last 16 at v Cardiff (6/4).
Barnsley (13/10) lost one of last 12 at home to Portsmouth (2/1).
Bristol C (19/10) have won their last four trips to Peterborough (11/8).
Derby (11/2) are unbeaten in their last four trips to Southampton (1/2).
Charlton (evens) have lost two of last 11 trips to Tranmere (13/5).
Notts C (7/4) have only won once in 12 visits to Hartlepool (6/4).
Orient (6/5) have drawn six of last seven at home to Scunthorpe (11/5).
Rochdale (19/10) have drawn five of their last six at home to Bournemouth (11/8).
Sheff Utd (1/2) unbeaten in 15 at home to PNE (11/2) and won last four 1-0.
Barnet (19/10) have only lost one of 13 at home to Shrewsbury (11/8).
Rotherham (7/5) have won all three trips to Burton (9/5).
- BANKER - Swindon to beat Hereford at 8/11.
These two could well be two divisions apart next season and the gulf in class looks likely to be exposed at Edgar Street. Swindon are in fine form and hammered Crawley in midweek, while Hereford were losing at Aldershot. They were woeful, according to boss Jamie Pitman, who also said the Bulls would get annihilated if they put in a repeat performance against Paolo di Canio's men on Saturday. While they will probably raise them game against the Robins, they are still likely to come up short.
- HOT-SHOTS -
Sunderland's Stephane Sessegnon has scored three in his last six and is 11/4 to net v Arsenal.
Ipswich's Michael Chopra has four in his last three and is 6/4 to net against his old club Cardiff.
Leicester's David Nugent has scored four in his last six and is 11/4 to score at Norwich.
Leeds' Ross McCormack has four goals in five games and is evens to net v Doncaster.
- TREATMENT ROOM - Barnsley to beat Portsmouth at 13/10.
Kelvin Etuhu sustained a hamstring injury and Liam Lawrence picked up a calf problem during Portsmouth's 1-0 home defeat to Ipswich and have joined three team-mates on the sidelines, leaving manager Michael Appleton with just 14 players at his disposal. Kanu continues to struggle with a back injury and is unlikely to return against the Tykes. Midfielder David Norris is still making his way back from a double hernia operation and forward Luke Varney is building up his fitness after two months on the sidelines with a knee injury. Defender Ricardo Rocha (calf), Greg Halford (knee) and Joel Ward (hip) are also doubts.
Burton to beat Rotherham at 9/5.
Leading scorer Billy Kee (groin) should be back in Burton's starting line-up. "I'd rather have a fully-fit fit Billy than a 75%-fit Billy. I'm confident that he will be fully fit for Saturday," said Paul Peschisolido, who may include new signing Chris Riggott in the squad.
- FAMOUS LAST WORDS - MK Dons to beat Oldham at 4/7.
MK Dons boss Karl Robinson speaking after the midweek defeat at leaders Charlton, said: "It was a performance of men. A performance of good footballers. There was grit and people who care for the club. I don't think you could ask for much more. I thought we created a number of chances with 11 men and with 10. It just shows you we're a really good team in this league. We came to the top team and proved we can mix it with the big boys."
Bournemouth to beat Rochdale at 7/5.
Cherries boss Lee Bradbury said after the midweek reverse to Leyton Orient: "We played very well tonight, the best for a long time. We had a lot of chances in there, so we need to be more clinical. There were a couple of blatant penalties. I've seen them on the DVD and they should be penalties. One should be a red card and off the pitch. The other was hit on the arm and should have been off. We can't go back on these decisions now, but it just drives me mad with the inconsistency. We had the ball the majority of the time, I'd be interested to see the stats. Possession doesn't win you the game, putting the ball in the net does. That's the most frustrating thing, we didn't really get what we deserved."
N Forest to beat Coventry at 5/6.
Speaking after the midweek defeat at Middlesbrough, Forest boss Steve Cotterill said: "We deserved something. We conceded at awful times but still created enough chances - even at 2-0 down - to come back and win. Obviously later on, in the last 15-20 minutes or so and playing against 10 men, you're going to get create more. But even with the 11 on the pitch, in the second half after we dealt with the goal we were the better team."
Let us know your views on the weekend's football betting action by posting a comment below.
You can follow Matty on Twitter at @mattpbriggs.
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