2025 FA Cup Quarter Finals Preview

Eight teams remain in contention to win the 144^th edition of the Football Association Challenge Cup, or as we just call it, the FA Cup.

A trip to Wembley next month awaits the victors of the four Quarter Final ties this weekend and it has been a tournament for the underdogs so far.

Just one of the Premier League’s traditional powerhouses remains in the tournament, with Manchester City chasing a seventh consecutive Semi Final.

Standing in their way this weekend though is Bournemouth, who are seeking to end a 126 year major trophy drought.

The only non top flight club remaining in the competition is Preston North End and the mid-table Championship will be eagerly awaiting their match with Champions League Quarter Finalists Aston Villa.

Find our previews and best bets for every match below as the domestic action resumes following the last international break of the season.

While Bournemouth may have a 126 year top flight title drought hanging over their heads, Fulham’s 146 year wait for major silverware is the longest out of every Premier League club.

They will have to buck a troubling recent trend in their head to head history with Crystal Palace to advance with the away side winning both Premier League meetings 2-0 this season.

Not to mention the three prior meetings all ended in a draw and the last time the home team won was in February 2019.

In terms of lead in form, both teams enjoyed a decent run of results up to the international break with Palace losing just twice since Christmas, and winning their last four games.

Meanwhile Fulham remains an enigma, capable of producing a world beating performance one week and an absolute stinker the next, however given the nature of the cup you have to think they will be up for this match.

Extra time looks like it could be on the cards and the draw in the 90 minute result is the way to go in this market.

Draw (90 Minutes) @ $3.40

The revenge angle is strong in this game with the last meeting between these two ending in a shock 7-0 win for Forest.

Perhaps the strangest aspect of that game was that Brighton did not do anything specifically wrong like having a player sent off early on, they were just demolished from start to finish.

However the Seagulls response to that performance was nothing short of spectacular winning their next six and drawing with Man City in their last outing.

It’s hard to find fault with Forest as well, winning their final three games before the break and looking like genuine top four contenders.

But the Brighton revenge angle is too hard to pass up, it has been over a decade since Forest won at the Amex Stadium and the 2-2 draw back in September saw them score their first goal at the venue since that 3-2 win in February 2015.

Brighton to Win (90 Minutes) @ $1.83

Still flying high after their progression in the Champions League, Villa will be hoping to continue their strong form against a side they are expected to make short work of.

Preston’s cup run belies their league form with one win, four draws and two defeats from their last seven Championship matches.

Scoring has been a major issue for them managing more than one goal in a game just twice since the start of February.

The best thing you can say about them is that they are stubborn and they might be able to keep Villa at bay for a while.

But that requires an awful lot of faith that they will be able to hold out and this Villa team is more than capable of firing out of the blocks.

Villa should be able to get on the scoreboard early and force Preston to abandon their strategy which only plays into the visitor’s hands.

Aston Villa HT/FT Double @ $2.15

This one should be an easy pick, after all it’s Bournemouth against City but last season’s finalists have had their issues this season.

One such struggle was a 2-1 loss at the Vitality Stadium back in November and based on the way Pep Guardiola’s side are limping to the finish line, they may not conjure up some sort of magical turnaround.

Sure this is their last shot at silverware for the season, but can you really back them with any confidence?

Bournemouth’s form heading into the international break was not that great either with their last five matches finishing as draws or losses after 90 minutes.

Their only “win” in that run came in the last round of the FA Cup, knocking out Wolves on penalties.

While both teams have been capable of scoring goals when they are in form, the way both sides have struggled in attack has me thinking that this one could be a bit of a grind with plenty of nerves on both sides.

First team to two goals should win it and book a trip to Wembley.

Under 3.5 Goals @ $1.65

2024

Football’s oldest cup competition is down to the final eight teams in its 2024 edition as we inch closer to the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in the next couple of months.

Just as it was last season, six Premier League teams remain in the draw heading into the Quarter Finals, with Manchester City the favourites to lift the trophy once again.

Championship sides Leicester and Coventry City are flying the flag for the lower divisions and both will be desperate to spring upsets over their more fancied opponents this weekend.

We have our previews and best bets for every FA Cup Quarter Final below so read on and see who we are backing.

With promotion likely beyond them for 2024, Coventry City can turn their attention to causing as much disruption in the FA Cup as humanly possible.

They are bringing a solid form line into this fixture, with four wins from their last six including an impressive 5-0 win over Maidstone in the last round.

Scoring has not been an issue for the Sky Blues but they have a very tough task ahead of them as they visit a Premier League opponent.

Wolves have won four of their last five and have navigated a tough path to get this far, including an extra time win in their Third Round Replay against Brentford.

Since then they have gone on to win away to West Brom and at home to Brighton and it looks like they are finding form at the right time of year.

While it would be great to see the lower league outsiders spring an upset, it’s tough to back against Wolves here.

Wolves to Win and Over 2.5 Goals (90 Minutes) @ $2.38

After a frustrating and controversial draw at Anfield last weekend, Manchester City will turn their attention to defending their FA Cup crown with this visit from Newcastle.

They have already defeated the Magpies twice in the Premier League this season, 1-0 at the Etihad last August before a 3-2 win on Tyneside in January.

Those matches came either side of a surprise 1-0 loss in the Carabao Cup against Newcastle as a rotated but still pretty good City side had their quest for the quadruple brought to an end.

In terms of recent form there really is only one team to back with the reigning English champions unbeaten in their last 21 matches and winning 18 of those.

That includes dominant wins in this competition over Huddersfield and Luton, either side of a hard fought 1-0 win against Tottenham.

I’m expecting this game to be much more like the win over Spurs, with City needing to grind the game out rather than blowing Newcastle out.

Manchester City to Win and Under 3.5 Goals @ $2.38

Seemingly destined for a return to the Premier League next season, wouldn’t Leicester love to knock off a potential opponent for next season in Chelsea.

It was the Blues defeating Tottenham in 2015 that handed the Foxes their lone Premier League title, but that won’t have much bearing on how this one plays out.

The Foxes have started to unravel lately, winning just two of their last six matches, one of which went to extra time as they knocked off Bournemouth in the last round of the FA Cup.

Chelsea is starting to find some form after a predominantly horrid campaign in the league, but they have lost one of their last seven and that was the Carabao Cup Final in extra time.

For better or worse, their matches have started to really open up with at least four goals in seven of their last nine outings.

While the market is somewhat skewed towards a high scoring affair, I’m still finding myself drawn towards the overs as the value play.

Both of these clubs are happy to attack and have really struggled to keep clean sheets in the last couple of months.

Over 3.5 Goals (90 Minutes) @ $2.30

A match worthy of being played on the Wembley stage with silverware, this historic rivalry provides us with the blockbuster of the weekend… is what we would be saying if these sides were on the same level anymore.

The brutal truth is that United just don’t have it in them to compete with Liverpool in these win or go home matches.

Sure they held out for a 0-0 draw in the league at Old Trafford back in December but this is not the same situation.

Admittedly Liverpool is dealing with a number of injuries but you have to give Jurgen Klopp credit for bringing in the youngsters and integrating them with the healthy big money players.

The Reds have won two of their last three at Old Trafford and should win this one.

Liverpool to Win (90 Minutes) @ $1.83

2023

Football’s oldest cup competition has reached the quarter final stage and there’s four fascinating matches to delve into over the coming days.

English powerhouses Manchester City and United will be out to add more silverware to their trophy cabinets and will start the weekend as the two favourites to raise the trophy at Wembley in May.

Their Premier League rivals Brighton and Fulham have also made it to the final eight and the lower divisions are well represented with Burnley, Sheffield United, Blackburn and Grimsby Town all eager to create their own Cinderella story.

We’ve got our previews and best bets for every FA Cup Quarter Final below so read on and find out who we are backing this weekend.

Our first FA Cup Quarter Final brings us a reunion of sorts with City’s legendary title winning defender Vincent Kompany now managing the Championship club.

Kompany has channelled his former club’s success thus far in the second tier with his side 13 points clear and boasting a positive goal difference of almost double their nearest competitors.

While he may never admit it, that buffer gives him a margin for error over the coming days that will allow him to go for it in this quarter final.

In all fairness, he may have to go for it anyway with City’s Norwegian marksman Erling Haaland firing Pep Guardiola’s side into the Champions League Quarter Finals in a 7-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig.

That was their fourth consecutive win in all competitions while keeping a clean sheet and a once leaky defence appears to have been shored up.

We are going to back City to flex their muscle as they chase a win as Haaland’s backup Julian Alvarez gets his time to shine.

SGM: Manchester City HT/FT, Over 2.5 Goals, Julian Alvarez Anytime Goalscorer @ $3.37

It’s an all Championship matchup in the second FA Cup Quarter Final, with second placed Sheffield United hosting a Blackburn team that is sitting in fifth place and staring at a promotion playoff.

Going off the Blades’ recent form, this is trending towards an upset win for Blackburn with the club alternating between wins and losses over their last six outings, with their most recent outing against Sunderland yielding all three points.

As for Blackburn, they are continuing to fight on two fronts and will have the confidence of a 1-0 win over Sheffield at home a fortnight ago.

This one has all the makings of a proper cup tie with both sides opting for a conservative, defence first approach.

Take the under and it may also be worth having a small play on this match going to extra time.

Back Under 2.5 Goals @ $1.85

League Two side Grimsby Town will take on one of the Premier League’s stories of the season with Brighton unsurprisingly short priced favourites to end the fairytale run of the fourth tier side.

This cup run has been an anomaly in an otherwise unspectacular season which has them sitting in 15^th place in League Two, however they have claimed their share of scalps on the way.

While that list does already include Premier League opposition, with a win away to Southampton in the last round, however Brighton is a big step up on the Saints.

It is perfectly reasonable to expect Grimsby to come out swinging but the Seagulls are a much better side and should comfortably win this match to book a date at Wembley.

Back Brighton to Win -2 Goals @ $1.91

Having already claimed the Carabao Cup, Erik ten Haag has a chance to claim the English cup double by winning his next three matches in this competition.

This all Premier League tie has plenty of intrigue to it as United has all but ended its pursuit of the league title and will now have this as their last chance for silverware this season.

Fulham will not roll over and will bank on their attack to get them over the line against a United side that will be missing their midfield enforcer Casemiro.

However it may not be enough against an opponent playing at home that appears to specialise in cup football.

In the market the price on Manchester United appears to be a bit low to back with any sort of confidence, however I do like the value on offer on taking both teams to score.

That has hit in the last three head to head meetings

Back Both Teams to Score @ $1.75

2022

2021

Football’s oldest competition has reached its final eight and the Quarter Final stage is scheduled for this weekend.

Seven of the eight remaining clubs are from the Premier League while Championship side Bournemouth takes on Southampton Saturday evening.

All four ties promise the high level of intensity and entertainment that only cup football can deliver.

Read on to see our best bets for all four FA Cup Quarter Finals.

Despite sitting in seventh place in the Championship, Bournemouth will fancy their chances as they take on a struggling Southampton side that is in danger of entering the Premier League’s relegation battle.

The FA Cup is the only competition Southampton have looked anything close to decent in during 2021 with their Premier League form being nothing short of atrocious.

Out of a possible 54 Premier League points since New Years Day, Southampton has picked up just nine however they have won all three of their FA Cup ties to nil to reach this stage.

Bournemouth will put that record to the test and I give the Cherries a genuine chance of advancing to Wembley, in part because Southampton has been so bad.

Back Bournemouth to Qualify @ $2.35

Nobody should be thinking about backing against Manchester City in this fixture as their quest for the quadruple remained alive during the week with a comfortable qualification in the Champions League.

Everton has stumbled in the past fortnight losing to Chelsea and Burnley and I give them little to no chance here.

While Everton did break through City’s stingy defence when they met at Goodison Park a month ago, it came in a 3-1 win for the Premier League champions elect.

City to win and keep a clean sheet continues to be a profitable play so I’ll stick with the winning formula.

Back Manchester City to Win to Nil @ $2.15

This is easily the biggest mismatch of the weekend as the red hot Chelsea takes on struggling Sheffield United.

It will be the first Premier League opposition that the Blades have faced in this competition which, considering their Premier League record is not a good sign.

23 defeats from 29 matches, including a 5-0 thumping at the hands of Leicester in their last outing shows just how poorly they are travelling and there will be no FA Cup respite here.

Chelsea is putting together a defensive record to rival Manchester City and it’s tough to see Sheffield breaking them down.

Back Chelsea to Win to Nil @ $1.91

Leicester has rediscovered its winning form in their last two matches with the Foxes getting by Brighton before hammering Sheffield United.

Their next assignment is a very tough task with Manchester United riding a 13 match unbeaten run in all competitions (prior to their Europa League tie).

Not to mention United is still undefeated away from home in English football, part of that run includes a 2-2 Boxing Day draw at the King Power Stadium.

This match is a very tough one to separate with both sides boasting plenty of talent to turn the match in their favour.

Out of all the FA Cup Quarter Finals this weekend, this is the most likely to go beyond 90 minutes and I’ll back that to occur here.

Back the Draw (90 Minutes) @ $3.40

2020

In the race to finish the Premier League season, you might have missed the FA Cup ties set to take place this weekend.

Originally set down for late March, the eight teams left in contention for the oldest Cup competition in football resume their campaigns this weekend.

We’ve previewed all four ties with trips to Wembley on the line and come up with our best bets below.

Norwich’s nightmare run continued during the week with another loss while being kept scoreless, this time by Everton.

United on the other hand had a perfect tune up, defeating the sluggish Sheffield United 3-0 at home.

Having already completed the league double over Norwich before the hiatus, United should have no trouble dispatching their relegation threatened counterparts.

The market also expects that outcome so to add on a bit of extra value, the play here is to take United to also keep a clean sheet against a listless Norwich attack.

Back Manchester United to Win to Nil @ $2.50

Isn’t this whole campaign setting up for Arsenal to go on some miraculous run, win the FA Cup then trying to convince everyone their season was a success?

As diabolically bad as the Gunners were in their last two Premier League matches (the Southampton match is yet to be played at the time of publish), the Blades have looked even worse in the last week.

They are still yet to score a goal and that once impenetrable defence suddenly looks vulnerable, conceding six goals total to Newcastle and Manchester United.

Nobody would blame you for sitting this one out, any Gunners fan would say you are mad for thinking about backing them, but this is worth a small play at that price as the slightly less out of form side.

Back Arsenal to Win (90 Minutes) @ $2.45

How much will Chelsea have left in the tank, playing less than 72 hours after taking on Manchester City in a vital clash, there’s a strong case to be made for Leicester here.

The Foxes have failed to get going in the last week however, drawing with relegation battlers Watford and Brighton so their lack of form could cancel out Chelsea’s fatigue.

If any tie this weekend is going to go the distance, this looks to be the one to back in and there’s good value on a draw after normal time.

The last three meetings between these sides have finished as draws after 90 minutes so another one certainly seems likely.

Back the Draw (90 Minutes) @ $3.30

What’s next for Manchester City?

With their pivotal clash against Chelsea yet to be played at publish, we could be looking at two very different scenarios here.

Either they will have lost, ending a Premier League title race that was pretty much done anyway, or they will have taken something from that match, prolonging the inevitable for another week.

One thing is for certain though, the FA Cup is their best chance at silverware this season so expect Pep Guardiola to put out a strong side and really go for it here.

After all, Newcastle has given them some real trouble in their last two trips to St James’ Park picking up a win and draw in those meetings.

Not this time though, City will win but it won’t come easy.

Back City to Win and Both Teams to Score @ $2.70

2019

It’s down to the final eight teams in the 138^th edition of the FA Cup with the two Manchester powerhouses favoured to win the competition but first they must navigate this weekend’s quarter finals.

Both teams will have to travel with City headed to Wales to take on Swansea and United taking on a Wolves side full of confidence.

Watford and Crystal Palace open the round while Milwall and Brighton face off at The Den in the other quarter final.

Read on for our previews and predictions for these games.

In a remarkable run for both sides, Watford and Crystal Palace have made the FA Cup Quarter Finals without conceding a goal.

Palace has claimed the bigger scalp, upsetting Tottenham 2-0 in the fourth round and has scored in 13 straight games in all competitions.

Watford on the other hand is up to eighth place and has won three of its last five, only losing to Manchester City and Liverpool.

Historically these sides have played in plenty of low scoring clashes with each of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2013 having three or fewer goals.

One of these games was the 2016 FA Cup Semi Finals with Crystal Palace taking out the honours on that occasion.

Watford is in better form here and should be able to pick up their third straight win over Palace after completing the League double in January.

Back Watford to Win in 90 Minutes and Under 3.5 Goals @ $3.10

City in the Premier League… not much fun to back, City in the Champions League… annoyingly not much fun to back either, but City in the FA Cup… actually that’s not a great option either.

On the back of their 7-0 win over Schalke during the week, City’s unlikely quadruple quest gets another test this weekend with a visit to Swansea.

Unfortunately they aren’t at great odds and with all due respect to the Welsh side, you wouldn’t want to back against them at the moment, even with the Swans offering $21 to win.

When you consider City’s lowest score in this tournament so far is a 4-1 win over Newport, they should be able to swat away their Championship opponents here.

Back Manchester City to Win & Over 3.5 Goals @ $2.15

Manchester United will have had a full week to recover from their loss away to Arsenal before turning their attention to the one domestic trophy they can still win.

It’s hard to take the loss at the Emirates as anything other than a blip on the radar considering the ballistic pace they have been winning at over the past three months.

That being said, the squad is somewhat depleted with a number of injuries leaving the cupboard bare and any more absences could really harm their chances here.

Wolves will bring plenty of confidence into this game, they have lost just once in their last eight games and did manage a draw back in September.

With the upsets this tournament has thrown up so far so back the favourites at your own risk.

Wolves have already beaten Liverpool in this tournament so with the value on offer, take that play and count on United’s depleted squad catching up with them.

Back Wolves to Win in 90 Minutes @ $3.20

Brighton might be having a rough go in the Premier League but they have a great chance to make the FA Cup Semi Finals here.

Taking on Millwall at The Den, the Seagulls have to feel confident about their chances in this game.

These sides will meet for the first time since 2015 when they played out a 0-0 draw and recent form for Brighton suggests the first goal could be key here.

With back to back Premier League wins giving them a boost on the table, Brighton should be able to book a trip to Wembley with a win here, although extra time would not be at all surprising.

Back Brighton to Qualify for the Next Round @ $1.60