The 'Magic' of the FA Cup...

It's that time of the week again and I'm here to bring you some more selections. Last weekend was a strange one for me as those following all my tips will have come out around even, but strangely my FA Cup tips were the best performers. I say strangely as I would never advise backing large stakes in cups, especially the early rounds, due to the often unpredictable nature of such matches. This is nothing to do with the load of rubbish that is 'the magic of the cup', rather the fact that some teams will name weakened line-ups or just plain not put in the effort. Anyway, I'll chalk them up as good picks, even if I wouldn't have been in a mad rush to get the weeks wages on them myself!

It's been another relatively quiet midweek with most European countries getting on with cup football in the absence of Champions League and Europa League matches.

In the only Premier League match we saw Spurs take on Everton and White Hart Lane, and by all accounts they were again hugely impressive. Most reports I saw suggested Spurs could really have had as many as they wanted and settled for two and conservation of energy in lieu of more challenging games. One player who caught the eye with a blinding driven goal was Benoit Essou-Ekotto. The left back could now probably be argued as the best in the whole league (Enrique at Liverpool would also have more than a shout) as he is good defensively and offers a lot of use attacking too.

Music this week is from Andrew Jackson Jihad with the charmingly titled Let Us Get Murdered.

Tottenham v Wolves, Saturday 1500

The aforementioned Spurs host Wolves this weekend after Jez Moxey was again moved to give Mick McCarthy his public support because of their regular insipid performances. Spurs are currently the team in form and possibly the most 'sure thing' there is in the Premier League. This new development into a side capable of stringing together one impressive win after another has put them within touching distance of actually being top of the table. From a betting perspective they surely have to represent the best value bet for actually winning the thing. The best compliment I can pay 'Arry Redknapp is that they can generally cope when any one of their players is out. Obviously they're better when the likes of Bale, Van Der Vaart and Adebayor play, but they're deputies are all capable of stepping in and performing too. In short, I now like Spurs (but never Redknapp).

Wolves are looking increasingly likely to find themselves in a relegation scrap come May. The players in general are Championship material with the odd exception like Steven Fletcher. This is beginning to show more and more and even players like Roger Johnson who previously impressed at Brum are looking dreadful. I can imagine the players are all behind big Mick, but sadly a change may be needed to bring about a kick up the arse for more than a few of them. They certainly will not want to be meeting Spurs anyway.

Back Tottenham -1 Handicap at 1.8 with Corbett Sports.

Swansea v Arsenal, Sunday 1600

Another side who have impressed many this season is Brendan Rodgers Swansea side. They pass the ball around brilliantly and in Michael Vorm possess a goalkeeper who could well be the find of the season. Unfortunately they do lack a predator in front of goal with Danny Graham showing again how hard many find the step up from Championship to Premier League. The Swans have scored only twenty in twenty so far and have relied upon a fantastic defence at home which has seen them only ship four goals in ten matches so far. They have also only lost one match at home having played the likes of Spurs and Stoke, both sides who have been mighty impressive at points.

Arsenal played Leeds on Monday night in the FA Cup and we saw the triumphant return of Thierry Henry scoring a typical winner. Whilst clearly a fantastic moment for player and fans alike, as many have pointed out in the euphoria, it was only in a largely disappointing 1-0 win over Leeds at home. What is clear though is that Henry, even at this stage of his career, is probably a better option than Chamakh or Park. The Gunners are now up to fifth in the table and lie only a point behind Chelsea and will be desperate to get back in the Champions League places as soon as possible. I would imagine we will see a fairly possession filled match with few shots. Robin Van Persie will probably again prove the difference.

Back Under 2.5 Goals at 1.93 with Ladbrokes.

Granada v Rayo Vallecano, Saturday 1700

Two of the promoted sides meet on Saturday afternoon in the Primera Liga and so far both have looked decent bets to stay up. Granada have recovered from a poor start to grab a few good results and are now three points clear of the relegation places. Their home form has a lot to do with this, as does their organised defence. In seven home matches they have only been beaten on the opening day and then by Barcelona whilst also only conceding six goals. In fact, in all their league matches they have only once conceded more than two in a game, and that was away at Real Madrid. If anything is going to keep them up it will be that defence.

Rayo have also looked very good in some matches. Their home ground is renowned for it's intimidating atmosphere and raucous supporters, which is a much more rare occurrence in Spain than England. They too sit three points above the relegation places and have also been better at home than away. Of nine away games they have lost four, drawn three and only won two, and they were both before October. They have also conceded a worrying seventeen goals in those nine matches. Granada have an excellent chance of pulling further clear in this.

Back Granada at 2.4 with Coral.

Osasuna v Racing Santander, Sunday 1500

The surprise package in the Primera Liga this year for many would definitely be Osasuna. They sit in fifth in the league and still stand unbeaten at home. Admittedly they are yet to host Real or Barca, but that is a mighty impressive record nonetheless. They are not big goalscorers, but make up for that fact by having a physical approach and not conceding many at all. In eight home games they have only conceded five goals so far whilst scoring thirteen. There is no reason to think this is some sort of blip as they have always been good at home and have merely strengthened in the past few seasons to make themselves a much more regular performing team.

Santander have struggled for a few years now and look like this season may be the one where they actually drop out into the Segunda division. This might even be good for them in many ways as they can try and regroup a bit having not really done anything positive for a few years. There main problem has been scoring goals, they haven't conceded many at all but failing to score has denied them wins. They have only scored nine in total, four away from home, and are also yet to win away. The signs only point one way here.

Back Osasuna To Win To Nil at a huge 2.7 with Paddy Power.

Genoa v Udinese, Sunday 1400

My only pick from Italy this week sees blog favourites Udinese travelling to Genoa. So far this season Genoa have been fairly underwhelming. They sit in mid-table and have their pretty good home form and tight defence to home to thank for this. They have won four, drawn two and lost two from ten at home so far, scoring ten and conceding seven in the process. They are a side built from the back and do not commit many players forward when attacking, and I would imagine this will be particularly evident against a side like Udine.

Udinese came back from the xmas break with a bang in a 4-1 win over Cesena last weekend. Whilst they did go into the break at 1-1, they were all over Cesena from the first whistle and were truly deserving of the final scoreline. Antonio Di Natale again showed his class and will have benefitted from a full weeks rest now his knees are giving him trouble. They still have a chance of winning Serie A and should see this as a very winnable match en route. I think they're worth backing to hopefully sneak a victory.

Back Udinese at 2.6 with BetVictor (new Victor Chandler name).

Mersin Idman Yurdu v Antalyaspor, Sunday 1400

First of two tips from the Super Lig in Turkey this week sees promoted Mersin taking on Antalyaspor. Mersin have picked up some good results already on their return to the top table in Turkey and sit in mid-table security for the moment with few worries of relegation, but also very unlikely to trouble the European places. They have got a fair mixture of results and this is true of at home where they are three wins, three draws and four defeats from ten matches so far. However comma three of these defeats at home were to Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Bursaspor leaving the stats looking slightly different. They are generally more than capable of beating all except the very best.

Antalyaspor have relied greatly on home form so far, mainly due to an appalling away record. Of nine away matches they have only won one, drawn two and lost six. In doing so they have only scored three goals as well as conceding ten. They are all too easy to beat when away from home and with such a pathetic goals for record that looks unlikely to change any time soon.

Back Mersin Idman Yurdu at 2.15 with William Hill.

Kayserispor v Gaziantepspor, Monday 1800

Last tip of the weekend comes in late as it's not played until Monday evening in Turkey. We see two Super Lig sides who have been around for a number of years without particularly doing anything meeting in Kayseri. This season Kayseri have made their best start for some time and that is in no small part due to the amount of goals they are scoring at home. They have fifteen in ten home matches, which in the low scoring Super Lig is no mean feat, and have conceded ten. They have only drawn one match all season and have been very entertaining in most matches. They have also won five of ten at home and lost four to emphasise the fact you either get a good result or bad with no in between here.

Gaziantepspor reached the Turkish Cup final last year and would have hoped to push on in the league this time out. This sadly has not been the case so far. Last season they were excellent at home and were pushing for Europe, but this season that home form has deserted them and they sit just above the relegation spots. They have only won one away match and the main reason behind this is the paltry six goals they have scored in nine away matches. They only have one win in the last six league matches and were also knocked out of the Cup by second division opposition in midweek which may well further dent their confidence.

Back Kayserispor at 2.1 with BlueSq.