Football: Five matches to consider for your Saturday acca
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There may be no Premier League action this weekend, but you can still tackle a bunch of FA Cup, Football League and La Liga matches on Saturday afternoon to beef up your accumulator.
The iconic FA Cup third round is always capable of serving up a giant-killing, so we’ll try to steer you clear of any potential acca banana skins. Here are our picks this weekend…
Bristol Rovers v Sheffield United (Sat, 15:00)
It’s been a miserable campaign for The Blades in the Premier League, but we think they could get a much-needed win against League One opposition to book their spot in the FA Cup fourth round.
Chris Wilder’s side are still searching for their first win in all competitions this season, but they’re coming up against a side sitting 18th in the third tier and kick-off as favourites away from home.
Bristol Rovers will pose a threat of their own having reached the third round with victories against Walsall and Darlington in November. The latter being a 6-0 thumping at the Memorial Stadium.
Sheffield United are 4/5 to win the match and despite their wretched form, we think they’ll be too strong for Rovers in the FA Cup.
Burnley v MK Dons (Sat, 15:00)
The Clarets will be hoping to carry their impressive domestic form into the FA Cup when they take on MK Dons from League One at Turf Moor.
Sean Dyche’s side have picked up eleven points form their last six games and despite being likely to rotate their starting XI, they should get the job done on home soil against a side that has lost three of their five FA Cup matches to Premier League opposition.
Jay Rodriguez, Chris Wood and Dwight McNeil are all in-line for a starting spot for The Clarets with Cameron Jerome set to lead the attack for MK Dons. We have Burnley 8/11 to win.
Stoke City v Leicester City (Sat, 15:00)
Stoke have lost their last four FA Cup third round ties and we think that run will continue with Leicester 3/4 to win the match.
The Foxes have progressed from all five of their FA Cup ties against Championship opposition since they won promotion to the Premier League in 2014 and Brendan Rodgers will see the FA Cup as a realistic opportunity to win some silverware this season.
The Potters are winless in their last three matches and will be without key players when they come up against a high-flying Leicester team brimming with confidence.
Rochdale v Crewe (Sat, 15:00)
Our next pick takes us to Rochdale where Crewe Alexandra are the visitors for their League One showdown.
Crewe are unbeaten in their last six League One games, winning four times in the process and we fancy them to bag all three points at 19/20 on Saturday to boost their play-off credentials.
Meanwhile, The Dale are winless in seven league games at home (D3 L4), their longest run of home soil without a win since March 2018.
Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (Sat, 15:15)
Atletico have been in devastating form in La Liga this season with twelve wins out of a possible fifteen to top the table ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Diego Simeone’s side have lost just once in the league so far and have conceded only six goals – the least in the division. Los Colchoneros will by vying to make it five wins from their last five league matches.
Bilbao will visit Wanda Metropolitano with a dismal head-to-head record against Atleti. Los Leones have won just one of their last ten meetings with the league leaders. Atletico Madrid to win is 4/7.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.
