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Andy's Sunday tips: Villa too strong for Palace
With Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool out of the competition, Aston Villa and Spurs will believe they can win the FA Cup. But they're both away from home in these two televised matches and I'm predicting slightly different fortunes for them.
Bolton v Tottenham
Whereas Tottenham are challenging for a top-four finish, Bolton are fighting for their lives. If you go through their respective squads, it's not difficult to see why. Solely in terms of their English players, I wouldn't be surprised to see Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon and maybe even Michael Dawson make Fabio Capello's squad, whereas I'd be amazed if a single Bolton player was on that plane.
Crouch could be the key player in this match. If he wins the aerial battles and allows Defoe to feed off him, Bolton will be in trouble, but if there's one thing that Bolton have been good at over the years, it's coming off better when a match turns into a scrap. If Spurs play too direct I can't see them getting the result.
Recommended Bet: Lay Spurs at [2.2]
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Facing a Neil Warnock side in the FA Cup is a bit like doing a crossword from a broadsheet newspaper - you might get the job done eventually but don't expect it to be easy. Defensively, Villa are one of the best teams in the country and they're particularly strong at protecting leads. My feeling is that they will have enough respect for Palace to allow them to dictate terms and then try and catch them on the break.
When you've got pacey players who are also good finishers - such as James Milner, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor - rushing at you from all angles, it's difficult to keep clean sheets. If Villa go ahead I can't see Palace coming back at them. This match means a lot to Palace on the financial front and they'll be desperate to earn a replay at the very least, but the gulf in class should make the difference and I see Villa's name in the draw for the next round.
Recommended Bet: Back Aston Villa to win at [1.9]
Fulham v Notts County
Sometimes in football you go on a winless run without really understanding how or why. Fulham were a case in point. Until they beat Burnley that was. And what a good win that was, with old campaigners Danny Murphy and Damien Duff particularly impressive. Strong home form has been the big change at Fulham since Roy Hodgson took over at Craven Cottage and here they face a side which that aren't one or two but actually three divisions below them. This has been a fine FA Cup run for Notts, including an away win at Wigan in the previous round, but I can't see anything but a home win here.
Recommended Bet: Back Fulham to win 2-0 at [7.4]
Rangers v Hibernian
Rangers will see their midweek draw as two points lost but they're still comfortably top of the table and should be too good for a Hibs side who have had a fine league season so far but will find a trip to Ibrox a little too much to handle.
Recommended bet: Rangers to win 2-1 at [8.8]
Andy's full list of Sunday predictions
Fulham v Notts County - 2-0 at [7.4]
Bolton v Spurs - 1-1 at [7.2]
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa - 0-2 at [9.0]
Rangers v Hibs - 2-1 at [8.8]
To let Andy know what you think of his predictions or get in touch with a question for our next podcast later this month, either leave a comment in the box below or e-mail andy.gray@betfair.com
Published: 13 Feb 2010 - Tags: Andy Gray , Ashley Young , FA Cup , James Milner
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