Non-Televised Match Previews / Mike Norman / 13 February 2009 /

"Mystical" Mike Norman looks into his crystal ball and sees a win for Sheffield United over Premier League opponents Hull City but what of the other Saturday matches involving the likes of West Ham and Blackburn? Best bet - Back Sheff Utd to beat Hull City @ [2.68]

Blackburn [1.69] v Coventry [6.2]; The Draw [3.95]

It will be interesting to see how Blackburn react after suffering their first defeat under Sam Allardyce at the hands of Aston Villa last weekend. Perhaps the last game they would have wanted was an FA Cup tie against bogey team Coventry City. A lay on Blackburn is worth a small bet at [1.69].

Coventry beat Rovers 4-1 at Ewood Park last season in this competition as well as beating them at the same venue in the 1996/97 FA Cup season. In fact, City have won three of their last four visits to Ewood Park and are unbeaten against Rovers in over 11 years.

I'm expecting a tight game with few goals - Under 2.5 Goals is available to back at [1.89] - and I wouldn't be surprised if the result in the Half Time/Full Time market was Draw/Draw ([6.2]). Correct Scores of 0-0 ([12.5]) and 1-1 ([8.6]) appeal most, but I'd hang fire on a First Goalscorer for now as both teams will probably field different line-ups to the norm due to injuries and rotation.

Sheff Utd [2.68] v Hull [2.9]; The Draw [3.45]

I have massive admiration for the way Hull are going about trying to stay in the Premier League, but I can't help feel that they will drop down a gear for this FA Cup tie. You have to go back to 1981 to find the last time Hull beat United, and even further back (1971) to find the last time they beat them at Bramall Lane. That's a lot of history to overcome and I fancy Sheffield United to prevail once again at [2.68].

United have a lot of unavailable players however (Gary Speed, Ugo Ehiogu, Arturo Lupoli, Darius Henderson) and will have to battle extremely hard to tame the Tigers. Another close game is on the cards with Draw/Sheff Utd [6.6] being the call in the Half Time/Full Time market.

Correct Scores of 1-0 ([9.0]) and 2-1 ([11.5]) to United are of interest to me, which makes the Over/Under 2.5 Goals market a hard one to assess. If pushed, I'd just favour the [2.34] for Over 2.5 Goals as opposed to the [1.73] currently available for Under 2.5 Goals.

West Ham [1.84] v Middlesbrough [5.3]; The Draw [3.65]

Being a Boro fan and therefore very much aware of their consistency in being inconsistent, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Middlesbrough put on a great performance against the Hammers. Logically speaking however makes it impossible to put them up as a selection - West Ham have been great of late, Boro have been awful. I'm going for a draw, more out of hope than anything else.

I can see this game having a lot of entertainment and think Over 3.5 Goals is well worth a bet at [3.95] - remember this is the cup, not the league, and Boro have an excellent recent history in this competition, scoring goals and usually reaching the latter stages. Correct Scores of 2-2 ([19.5]) and 3-2 either way ([34.0] and [70.0]) are well worth covering to small stakes.

For a First Goalscorer look no further than the in-form Carlton Cole if you pick a West Ham player, or Boro's Afonso Alves who has scored almost as many FA Cup goals this season as he has league goals. Once the market matures, they will be available to back at around [7.0] and [11.0] respectively.

Incidentally, Middlesbrough have lost to the team that has eventually finished as FA Cup losing-finalists in each of the last four seasons. If Boro lose this one, then how about West Ham to reach the final and carry on the trend? You can back them now at [7.4] to do just that.

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