Up for the Cup?
The magic of the FA Cup again looms large for spread bettors up and down the land, but those looking to get with the jollies on the spreads will be hoping that the recent upsets at this stage of the competition don't raise their ugly heads again. Chelsea were beaten at unfancied Barnsley last year and punters who fancy a similar result on Saturday may be interested in the Sporting Index outright FA Cup index. Now, teams who have made it to the quarter-finals already have 33 points, but an appearance in the semi-finals will produce at least 50 points.
Coventry currently have a spread of 35-37, but buyers will be concerned that Championship sides don't have a strong record at home against top-flight opposition in this round. They have lost seven, but only won two of the last 10 such fixtures in the Premier League era. One stat that will interest the spread bettors playing the Coventry goal markets is that since Abramovich took control of the club, they have played 10 away FA Cup matches and have conceded in nine of them. Those hoping for a Chelsea clean sheet will be praying that John Terry et al can repeat their last away FA Cup shutout – a trip to non-league Scarborough in 2004!
It was a gloomy day on the Sporting Index trading floor when Man United won the treble thanks to their win in Barcelona in 1999. They have a genuine chance of pulling off an unprecedented quadruple and many spread bettors will undoubtedly be looking to get with the champions against Fulham on Saturday. United are the 0.7-0.9 spread favourites for this one, but sellers will point to the Cottagers outstanding record at home in the league this season. They have won eight and have only tasted defeat twice, however spread sellers won't be getting too cocky as Fulham have only managed to beat United once in 29 games since 1964. Total goals buyers and Man United spread supremacy supporters will be hoping for more of the same, as United have scored two or more goals in all of the last seven meetings, with an average of four match goals per game in those encounters.
The final all-Premier League match-up raises a number of questions for spread bettors to ponder. Middlesbrough - although struggling terribly in the league this season - have an excellent recent record in the FA Cup; this being their fourth straight quarter-final appearance. However, although they have made it this far, they haven't managed to progress much further, or at least without a replay. Spread bettors looking to sell the Toffees supremacy would have to be worried that ‘Boro have failed to win any of their quarter final ‘first legs', drawing two, but crucially only managing to score once in those three games. That is a boost to those who like to sell goals on the spreads and recent games between these two suggest that goals may be hard to come by. Only one of the last 15 games between these clubs has produced more than two.
Bill Esdaile of Square in the Air Communications, a former sports trader, spread betting specialist and self confessed stats addict, casts his eye over this weekend's sport and shares his views on some of the trades available. Please note these are his views and are not the views of Sporting Index.
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