Ben Davies / Ben Davies / 04 February 2010 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet View Market

These are good times for Notts County midfielder Ben Davies who notched his eighth goal of the season at the weekend and was instrumental in Notts overcoming Wigan in the FA Cup. Plus the Merseyside derby and life on the road....

"It is the first time that the club has reached the fifth round of the FA Cup since 1992 and the first time Notts has ever beaten a Premier League team in the FA Cup since the new PL format was created. It was a great night for us all and we took a great following who roared us on all game long. The celebrations after the game in front of our fans were brilliant and something I will never forget."

Hello to you once again and welcome to my Betfair column in another of the most enjoyable weeks of my career.

When I last wrote, we had just drawn 2-2 to Wigan Athletic in the F.A Cup and we were bitterly disappointed that we had thrown away a two goal lead. Since then we have beaten Barnet at home in a game where I managed to score from another free kick, making it my third goal in three games and eighth for the season. We then travelled to Wigan for the replay and put in an outstanding performance. We won the game 2-0 and it was a great night for all connected to Notts County football club. It is the first time that the club has reached the fifth round of the FA Cup since 1992 and the first time Notts has ever beaten a Premier League team in the FA Cup since the new PL format was created. It was a great night for us all and we took a great following who roared us on all game long. The celebrations after the game in front of our fans were brilliant and something I will never forget. We have now set ourselves up with a trip to Craven Cottage in a last sixteen tie against Fulham next Sunday.

We are currently playing every Saturday and Tuesday, trying to catch up with our fixture backlog which the weather and the run in the F.A Cup has created. This has led to a lot of overnight stays and a great deal of travelling. However, this is part and parcel of a footballers' life and it seems that half of my time since Christmas has been spent in a hotel. We have been stopping in hotels before every away game recently and each time we go through our familiar routine. It's not as glamorous as it sounds, as most of our time in the hotel is spent sitting around and waiting for the game. We have to have a swim on the morning of the day of the game but the rest of our time is spent watching television and playing computer games.

Our next two league games are Grimsby away and Bournemouth away, so there will be plenty more feet up to come in the next week. I room with Johnny Jackson who is constantly on his laptop, so normally I have the telly to myself. It makes a nice change to have the telly to myself, because with Desperate Housewives and Gray's Anatomy starting up again, I rarely get a look in at home.

This weekend's game sees divided loyalties for my family. My wife and her family are from a little village about ten miles away from Grimsby Town Football Club and many of her family support their local team. The family gets divided at this fixture and I always get plenty of stick if they beat us. One of my good friends is the Mighty Mariner, the Grimsby Town mascot, so it will be interesting to see him in all his uniform. I always stay at the in-laws after the game instead of travelling back on the bus, so I am desperate to get a result so I can have the last laugh. I can normally hear several members of my wife's family heckling at me during the game as they always seem to have bought tickets as close to the pitch as possible to be within ear shot and try to put me off. It means that much to them!

On the betting front, this week I am going to delve into the Merseyside derby. Derby games are normally fantastic atmospheres and this one is certainly one of the best. Players look forward to derbies as it is a great chance to become an instant fans' favourite. Everton have hit form and are on a good run whilst Liverpool are also creeping up the table. I think this will be a tight affair and I am going to go for Liverpool to win at [1.91] and I'm predicting the final score will be 1-0 at [7.8].

Tags: Ben Davies, Everton fixtures, FA Cup matches, FA Cup results, Merseyside Derby, Wigan Athletic