FA Cup: Stand four-square behind Rochdale bogey team Bury
Rochdale are given the chance to shake a firmly-affixed monkey off their backs when hosting fellow League One mid-tablers Bury in the second round of the FA Cup, but the past suggests they’ll fall short, as always.
Never in the near-70 year history of this fixture have Rochdale triumphed on their own turf against Bury in cup competition, a stat worth knowing ahead of formulating a betting plan for what ought to be a tight encounter.
Bury have won once and drawn once at Spotland Stadium in the FA Cup, with two wins in the League Cup, two in the Football League Trophy, and a penalties triumph the last time the North West pair met in Rochdale for a knockout bout, in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy four years ago.
With that in mind, a double-chance bet on Bury or the draw at 8/13 looks an absolute must-have wager.
For those who disagree, Ladbrokes have boosted the odds on Rochdale to win and both teams to score from 3/1 to 4/1, and the bookies are rolling out their generous Double Your Odds 1st Goalscorer offer for this fixture, which will be shown live on telly.
That means if your first-goalscorer pick bags the opener within the first 25 minutes of the match, Ladbrokes will double the odds on your winning bet.*
Leon Clarke is Bury’s top League One scorer this season with nine goals and grabbed a fourth-minute opener in the 3-1 defeat at Gillingham a few weeks back.
He looks a decent bet in this market at 5/1, but Tom Pope bagged within 20 minutes of his side’s only other FA Cup fixture this term, a 4-0 win at home to Wigan. The 30-year-old must also be taken into consideration at 17/2.
Iain Henderson has bagged three of the hosts past four goals, including both their last couple of openers, and gets a 5/1 co-favourite quote from the bookies, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who notched all of Rochdale’s efforts in the 3-1 win over Swindon in the first round, available at 9/1.
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