The FAmous FA Cup
After a pretty uneventful opening afternoon of the FA Cup third round, two results caught spread bettors by surprise and rekindled the oft-mentioned romance of the FA Cup. Firstly, Championship strugglers Reading compounded the misery of Liverpool fans by earning a 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium before Leeds United stunned old rivals Manchester United - and spread buyers of the home team's supremacy - with victory at Old Trafford. Reading completed the job and delivered a double whammy to spread buyers of Liverpool's win index spread with a 2-1 win after extra time in their replay at Anfield.
Leeds have another chance of a giant-killing when they travel to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham in the fourth round. Spurs last played Leeds in 2004, the last time the Yorkshire side graced the top flight. That season saw Spurs manage the double over this weekend's opponents, which will please spread buyers of the Londoners' win index. Punters wanting to sell Spurs' supremacy spread however might be more interested to know that the last time United won at White Hart Lane was in 2001.
Sporting Index's traders have had trouble when pricing up the bookings index for this match. As sellers of the spread may have noticed, the last three matches between the two have averaged just 23 points, with the last match seeing just one yellow card. However, spread buyers will highlight United's match at Tottenham in 2002, where a total of 10 yellows were issued.
Everton v Birmingham will offer plenty of other spread betting opportunities as both sides battle it out for a place in the fifth round. Those looking to sell Everton's supremacy spread will recall the game earlier this season where Alex McLeish's side shared the points at Goodison Park, but Everton's performance against Man City last weekend will give buyers of the spread much more hope. The total goal minutes market has proved particularly volatile in recent matches between these two sides and there is enough to argue for a buy or a sell of the spread. The match earlier this season only totalled 27 points, but 270 minutes were made up on their previous trip to Goodison, thanks to two 90th minute goals from Lee Carsley and James Vaughan.
Another one of the all-Premier League matches sees Stoke welcome Arsenal. The Potters have recently caused the Gunners problems at the Britannia and buyers of Stoke's win index spread will hope for a repeat of the side's 2-1 victory in 2008. Buyers of Arsenal's supremacy will, however, take plenty of confidence from a comfortable win in the meeting at the Emirates at the start of December. Since 1990, Stoke have entertained Arsenal at home three times and each time has produced a different result. Relevant for buyers of the total goals spread, of the seven meetings overall since then, four have featured at least three goals but two of the three matches in Stoke have featured less than three goals.
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