BTTS Tips: 5/1 treble for Saturday's 3pm FA Cup action
An interrupted Christmas and New Year schedule hasn't quite provided us with the festive helping of football we've typically been accustomed to, but this weekend's FA Cup action may help deliver on that promise.
There are currently 32 matches in contention to be played across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and even if Covid does inevitably force some of those into postponements, there should be enough left standing to fulfill our footy fix.
This week's BTTS treble is made up of selections from Saturday's matches - all kicking off at 3pm - which combine for this 5.93/1 bet with Bet365.
Leicester vs Watford
An all Premier League tie is the first selection on our list. When these two faced one another in the top flight back in November, fans and neutrals alike were treated to a high scoring affair. Leicester came out on top as 4-2 victors at the King Power Stadium that day, meaning three of the four last meetings between them have seen both teams score.
Judging from their Premier League sample sizes so far this season, 66.7% of all Leicester's games have seen BTTS. For Watford, over half of their 18 league games have had both teams scoring in them, including six of their last seven with the last outing vs Tottenham proving the exception to the rule.
Leicester's most recent PL match vs Liverpool also proved the anomaly for an unwanted record of their own, as they managed to keep just a fourth clean sheet from 26 matches across four different competitions this term.
Newcastle vs Cambridge
The battle of the Uniteds is next up. There are a whopping 41 places separating these two teams' current positions in their respective leagues, but if the magic of the cup was applicable to any kind of prospective ties, it's a match up like this one. Premier League strugglers Newcastle are currently languishing in 19th place, only a single point and a superior goal difference keeping their heads above Norwich at the foot of the table.
Since Eddie Howe's appointment, the Magpies have managed only one win in eight games, and six points from a possible 24 available. That's not good enough by anybody's standards and the Billionaire-funded club will be putting all their eggs in the January transfer window basket to turn their fortunes. However, a leaky defence has been their ultimate downfall and this hasn't improved at all under Howe's stewardship. They've kept just one clean sheet since his arrival, conceding 18 goals during this time. That leaves them with the joint-worst defensive record in the top flight and it's this concern that makes them a good bet for BTTS.
In Cambridge's case, the 16th placed League One side have a fantastic away record for both teams scoring this season. Of their 11 matches, only three have failed to see the bet land, leaving them with a success rate of 72.7% in this department. The U's have offered a decent attacking output, especially when examined against that of the teams around them, netting 32 times which is more than seven of the sides above them, and greater than six of the eight clubs residing below them.
Boreham Wood vs AFC Wimbledon
Our third and final pick comes from one of the National League grounds as Boreham Wood host third tier AFC Wimbledon. The fourth placed home side are four points off the top spot, with up to three games in hand over teams above them. Compare this to AFC Wimbledon who are currently 16th in League One and boast a 61.9% BTTS record for league games this season.
The particular attraction in this one is an in-form National League team, undefeated in their last 10, facing off with the home advantage against a team two divisions higher who've had a number of free scoring games lately. These include a 3-2 win over Crewe Alexandra, a 2-2 draw with Fleetwood four days later, a 4-3 win in the Second Round of this very competition a week later and finally a 2-2 draw with Wycombe in mid December. You'd expect at least one National League side to make it beyond the Third Round as history usually dictates, and Boreham Wood could well be that team. If not, I expect them to at least give it a good go and BTTS seems like a good bet here.
