The FA Cup Fourth Round draw did not exactly provide us with a feast of big matches and it is difficult to see where, if any, the major shocks will be.
Chelsea and Man City both have relatively easy home matches against Bradford City and Middlesbrough respectively. The Blues have the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final with Liverpool on Tuesday night and then Man City in the Premiership on Sunday. Fortunately for Mourinho, he has a fully-fit squad and afford the luxury of some squad rotation.
Bradford are priced at 28-1 but a more likely outcome is a repeat of Chelsea’s 3-0 third round victory over Watford. There has been speculation that the Blues were willing to part with Andre Schurrle but he is in the line-up on Saturday and can score in a comfortable home win.
City had an unusual prep for the home tie with Middlesbrough by playing in Dubai. They are likely to field a strong enough team to see off Boro with Sergio Aguero looking to recover his goal scoring form. Predicting the line-up is almost as difficult as forecasting the result but I’d expect Aguero to score in another home win for the champions.
There are two all-Premiership games with Southampton at home to Crystal Palace and Tottenham facing Leicester. Spurs were poor against Sheffield United on Wednesday and grateful to escape with a 1-0 advantage to take to the second leg. Leicester have been battling away but you have to wonder about the merits of a Cup run whilst they struggle to avoid relegation.
Crystal Palace seem to have been revitalised by the arrival of Alan Pardew and their clash with Southampton is a tricky one. The Saints needed a replay to get past Ipswich in round 3 and they could face a similar scenario here. The late kick-off sees Liverpool host Bolton, another side buoyed by a new coach in the shape of Neil Lennon. The former Celtic boss has only lost one in twelve since joining the Trotters but Liverpool may just edge this one.
Sunday should see Arsenal and West Ham go through safely, at Brighton and Bristol City respectively. Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil could make their return for the Gunners as Arsene Wenger’s squad gradually approaches full fitness. Arsenal could be worth a bet on the handicap in this one while the Hammers deserve to go further in the competition after their epic battle with Everton.
Andre Schurrle scores and Chelsea win @5-4 Paddy Power
Sergio Aguero scores and Man City win @8-11 Ladbrokes
Southampton v Crystal Palace DRAW @3-1 Bet365
Tottenham to win by one goal @11-4 Sky Bet
Liverpool to win by one goal @3-1 Ladbrokes
West Ham to beat Bristol City @21-20 BetVictor
Arsenal (-1.0 handicap) to win @7-5 Paddy Power
