Weekend FA Cup Tips: Holloway and Ranger feature in 42/1 and 14/1 second round trebles

• Swindon's leaky defence set for more trouble

• Can Nile Ranger lift the Poppies again on Sunday?

• Alan Dudman picks out 42/1 and 14/115.00 accas for this weekend

• Place £10 bet on any sport on the Betfair Exchange to start your Free Bet Streak

Football... Only Bettor. Listen to the latest episode now.

Saturday FA Cup treble

Leg 1: Cambridge United v Wigan Athletic, Saturday 15:00: Back Cambridge @ 7/42.75 Match Odds 90 mins

Since Cambridge's 6-1 mauling and defensive fiasco at the hands of their fierce local rivals Peterborough, Garry Monk has shored up the back with three successive League One draws all hitting the Under 2.5 Goals at 1-1, 1-1 and 0-0. Two of those results were against Bolton and Barnsley, so Monk at least has had some sort of response.

A narrow 0-1 at Woking in the first round for Cambridge lends itself to another Under 2.5 Goals game and against a possession-heavy team like Wigan might be able to nick this; it could well be by the odd goal.

Cambridge have won three of their last four meetings with Wigan in all competitions (L1), more than they had in their previous 15 against the Latics (W2 D8 L5) and the hosts won the fixture on home soil earlier in the season 2-0 against hardly any of the possession in the game. Same old Latics you say.

With Wigan scoring just eight and shipping eight on the road, I don't think it's a bad price on Cambridge in the 90 minutes market at 7/42.75 as the Unders looks short enough.

KEY OPTA STAT: This is the first ever FA Cup meeting between Cambridge and Wigan. The Latics are winless in their last four visits to the U's in all competitions (D2 L2), already losing 2-0 in League One this season.

Leg 2: Wealdstone v Wycombe Wanderers, Saturday 11:30: Back Richard Kone First Goalscorer @ 4/15.00

Wycombe's form has been breathtaking in League One - they've racked up an astonishing ten wins on the spin going into the weekend and sit proudly on top of the tree, and one name that is worth mentioning is striker Richard Kone.

The 21-year-old has 11 goals this season and hit a hat-trick at Peterborough, a remarkable feat considering he popped up from the bench on 61 minutes for his brace and also scored the penalty.

Kone has been plucked from the ninth tier and had scored a ton of goals at that level, and while Wycombe will be a banker here for many at the weekend purely on their rampant form, with Kone on pens and a likely starter, I quite the angle of a 4/15.00 punt against non-league opposition, although you have to respect their first round win against Grimsby.

Wealdstone are looking to reach the third round of the FA Cup for just the second time in their history, previously doing so in 1977-78 (eliminating Football League opponents in rounds one and two back then).

KEY OPTA STAT: Wycombe have won two of their last three matches in the FA Cup (L1), having won just one of their previous nine in the competition (D2 L6).

Leg 3: Accrington Stanley v Swindon Town, Saturday 15:00: Back Accrington and Over 2.5 Goals @ 11/53.20

You always had the feeling Swindon's defence was teetering on the edge of collapse prior to Ian Holloway's appointment at the County Ground, and not a lot has changed since Olly has taken charge.

Their last three games have all been goal-heavy at 1-3, 2-2 and 2-3 and the last time they kept a clean sheet was at the beginning of October. Haunted ground or not.

Swindon's frailties rest with an inability to defend set-pieces and free-kicks, and they are one of the worst offenders in the division. I won't go into Holloway's good books I am sure, and I never was; as I linked one of his players at QPR many years ago at Clubcall through an agent, and promptly had Holloway on the phone demanding to speak to me.

Accrington are a team rarely on my punting radar, but their home form (if a little draw heavy) is reliable and they should be granted some gifts this weekend I am sure from a chances perspective, and have won each of their last three FA Cup second round ties, beating Woking 3-0 in 2016-17, Cheltenham 3-1 in 2018-19 and Barnet 1-0 in 2022-23.

KEY OPTA STAT: Swindon are looking to reach the FA Cup third round for the first time since 2021-22. They've kept just one clean sheet in their last 21 matches in the competition (3-0 v Crewe in November 2021).

Sunday FA Cup treble

Leg 1: Kettering Town v Doncaster Rovers, Sunday 12:00: Back Kettering +1 @ 13/53.60

Southern League Premier Central club Kettering earned the local bragging rights with a 2-1 FA Cup first round win over Northampton - and Nile Ranger's towering header capped his own road from redemption.

Ranger has made a big impact on Richard Lavery's in-form Poppies and are currently top of their division with a goal tally of 34 and the non-league side can boast a set of attackers of yesteryear with Gary Hooper, Marvin Sordell and Ranger.

This will be a tricky game for Doncaster, and I have zero interest in a 1/41.25 shot away from home despite the chasm in divisions, as Kettering Town have progressed from four of their last six FA Cup ties against Football League opponents, with this their first ever competitive meeting with Rovers.

It might be worth taking a swing on the Kettering +1 here at 13/53.60, and who knows, Ranger might just grab another headline after signing a new deal recently to extend his stay at the club.

KEY OPTA STAT: This is Kettering Town's first appearance in the FA Cup second round since 2009-10, when they were eliminated by Leeds United. They last reached the third round of the competition the season before in 2008-09.

Leg 2: Blackpool v Birmingham City, Sunday 13:00: Back Birmingham @ 3/4

What a game to preview - the Steve Bruce derby and my first instinct here is we would rarely get the chance to back Blues at 3/4 for a League One match. Yes, they are on the road, but Blackpool's midweek win was much-needed and addressed a poor run of results and sometimes a price just cannot be turned down.

Birmingham were 0-2 winners at Exeter just days ago with a possession dominating performance and they couldn't have been more emphatic with an xG output of 2.15 against a paltry xG for Exeter at a pathetic 0.12.

Jay Stansfield scored from the spot for his tenth of the season and it will be key here to see what sort of side Chris Davies will put out - I suspect a strong one considering the owners don't mind some limelight. Birmingham have won just one of their last seven away games against Blackpool in all competitions (D3 L3), winning a Championship encounter 2-1 in February 2014, but this is the new Brum for the first FA Cup meeting between Blackpool and Birmingham since January 1967, with the Blues winning a third round tie 2-1 back then.

KEY OPTA STAT: Blackpool have progressed from their last 10 FA Cup second round ties, last going out at this stage of the competition in 2000-01 (0-1 vs Yeovil Town).

Leg 3: Burton Albion v Tamworth, Sunday 14:00: Back Tamworth Double Chance @ 6/42.50

With just eight points in League One this term and a team staring point-blank at relegation, this is not an easy fixture against a National League side and Burton will be twitching very nervously.

The Brewers barely created anything in midweek against Charlton - conceding 24 shots and five big chances for the Addicks, while their own xG was just 0.12 and it was evident when with the ball in the final third were so bereft of confidence they struggled to create anything.

Tamowrth are F6 A6 on the road in the fifth tier and maybe a few of their players read the Staffordshire local news with one headline saying "More gloom for Burton" and in the match report versus Charlton were described as "grim". Tamworth beat League One Huddersfield in the first round - only once have they won consecutive FA Cup ties against Football League opponents doing so in the first two rounds in 2005-06 (Bournemouth and Hartlepool), so they've already claimed a bigger scalp.

Backing Burton at 2/51.40 looks one of the worst bets of all time with just one home win all season and a capitulation recently against Stockport.

KEY OPTA STAT: Tamworth are looking to reach the FA Cup third round for the first time since 2011-12, though this is only their second campaign in the competition proper since then after 2013-14.

Now read more football tips from Betfair's team of writers here!