Five FA Cup Giant Killers For Your Saturday Accumulator

Updated: 09/12/2024

Giant killing is written into the folklore of the FA Cup and this weekend will be no different. To help you build an accumulator for this year’s third round, here are five potential giant killers to keep an eye on. We start on Tyneside where Newcastle torrid recent FA Cup record is put to the test by Blackburn Rovers.

Newcastle United vs. Blackburn Rovers

Saturday, 5 January, 17:30

There are several reasons why Newcastle fans are not fond of owner Mike Ashley. They range from a lack of investment in the transfer market to a trend of long-term underperformance that has seen the Magpies relegated from the Premier League twice in the last decade.

One of their chief complaints concerns the attitude shown towards cup competitions: since Ashley took control of the club in May 2007, Newcastle have never progressed beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup and have exited the competition at the third round stage on no fewer than six occasions.

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Rafael Benitez is a popular figure at St James’ Park, but he too will be keen to prioritise the Premier League and that could enable Blackburn to spring a surprise on Saturday.

Whilst Rovers’ recent form doesn’t look great (one win in six games), those fixtures have been against the top four teams in the Championship including a win against West Brom and one goal losses to Leeds and Norwich.

Rovers gave Bournemouth a mighty scare in the third round of the League Cup in September and are good enough to take advantage against what is likely to be a heavily rotated Newcastle XI.

Back Blackburn to Win @ 4/1

Sheffield Wednesday vs. Luton Town

Saturday, 5 January, 12.30

Luton have played some fantastic football in League One this season and are in with a great shot of lining up alongside the Owls in the second tier next term. The Hatters have amassed 52 points from 26 games to sit second in the standings in early January.

Wednesday may well benefit from a new manager bounce, but such an effect will have to wait because new manager Steve Bruce will take the job until the end of January.

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With the Owls possessing the fifth-worst home record in the Championship and Luton having won five of their last five six away matches in all competitions, it could be worth backing a victory for the visitors.

Back Luton to Win @ 2/1

Gillingham vs. Cardiff City

Saturday, 5 January, 15.00

Notwithstanding a 1–0 win at Leicester City on Boxing Day, Cardiff possess a dismal away record this season in losing seven of their 10 Premier League games outside Wales.

That will give Gillingham confidence ahead of Saturday’s showdown at Priestfield. The underdogs from League One will also be boosted by the fact that Cardiff face two relegation six pointers against Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United after their trip to Kent.

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Whilst the Gills home record is nothing to write home about, they have scored in their last five home games in all competitions and face a Cardiff that has failed to score in five out of 10 away league matches.

Neil Warnock is highly likely to ring the changes with those crunch clashes in mind, meaning a third-round shock could well be on the cards in this one.

Back Gillingham to Win @ 3/1

Brentford vs. Oxford United

Saturday, 5 January, 15.00

When Dean Smith left Brentford for Aston Villa in October, the west London outfit were sixth in the Championship having just secured an impressive 1–1 draw at Leeds United. The Bees have tumbled down the second tier since then, however, winning just two out of 14 games to slide all the way down to 18th. It leaves them a mere six points above the bottom three.

Oxford, of course, are also struggling down in League One, but their record in the same timeframe has been broadly positive. Karl Robinson’s charges are have lost their last three, yet they have avoided defeat in 11 of their 15 most recent league fixtures.

The U’s beat Plymouth Argyle away from home in the second round of the FA Cup and have shown before that they can produce upsets on their travels.

Back Oxford to Win @ 5/1

Derby County vs. Southampton

Saturday, 5 January, 15.00

Whenever a high-flying Championship side takes on a Premier League struggler, it is always hard to work out just how much of a shock it would be if the lower-ranked team emerged victorious. The markets are clear in the case of Derby vs. Southampton, though: a home win would qualify as an upset, albeit a relatively minor one.

Frank Lampard’s promotion-pushing side have lost just twice at home in the Championship this term and Saints have tasted defeat in six of their last nine league encounters on the road.

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Ralph Hasenhuttl has overseen an improvement in performances since he replaced Mark Hughes in the St Mary’s dugout, but Derby look well positioned to take advantage if the Austrian shuffles his pack as expected.

Back Derby to Win @ 7/4

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Five FA Cup Giant Killers For Your Saturday Accumulator was originally published in blog.betbull.com on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Original source: https://blog.betbull.com/five-fa-cup-giant-killers-for-your-saturday-accumulator-2da2ac9a0ac6?source=rss—-8f47704ae58f—4

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