FA Cup Tips: Coventry to summon the spirit of '87

These were the men in charge when Coventry lifted their only ever FA Cup at the expense of Spurs in 1987

The Premier League makes way for the FA Cup this weekend and Paul Robinson has cast his eye over Betfair's Fixed Odds markets for you. Here are his selections:

Crystal Palace v Stoke  
Back Crystal Palace @ 2.87 (15/8)  
Back Over 2.5 goals @ 2.1 (11/10)  

The FA Cup is notorious for its upsets and I think we could be in store for a bit of a mini one at Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace take on Stoke.

The Eagles are soaring in third place in the Championship at the moment and they ended a five match winless run by defeating Wolves last time out. In all fairness to Palace, three of those five games were away from home and they only lost one of them, which was against the league leaders. 

Ian Holloway has come in as manager since the departure of Dougie Freedman and he has continued their fine record at home. After losing their opening match at Selhurst Park of the season, Palace have gone on a 12 match unbeaten run,  winning eight and drawing four. They have been scoring goals for fun, netting two or more in 10 of those dozen games.

Stoke's own 10 league match unbeaten run came to an end last time at Manchester City. While that can be forgiven, they did draw a fair few in that spell and it took a late fight back to snatch a point against Southampton the time before.

The Potters have already been knocked out of the Capital One Cup by lower league opposition this term and I think they could be vulnerable away to Palace here. The Londoners score plenty of goals, especially at home, so not only do I think a home win is overpriced at 2.87 (15/8), over 2.5 goals at odds-against is also worth a bet.

Millwall v Preston  
Back Millwall @ 1.66 (4/6) 
Back Millwall to win 1-0 @ 6.5 (11/2)  

Millwall are another Championship club who are playing well at the moment and I strongly fancy them to have too much for League One's Preston.

The Lions are seventh in the table, missing out on the play-off places on goal difference only. They put a pair of defeats behind them on New Year's Day by beating Bristol City at home, and before that they'd lost just one of their previous 16.

The Den has always been an intimidating place to go for opposition players and fans alike, highlighted by the fact that Millwall have won six of their last nine there. They lost just once during that period, and that was in a game where they were reduced to 10 men.

Preston are 14th in League One, having won just three of their last 16 in that division. Not so long ago they were pushing for promotion to the Premier League, but things aren't as rosy as they once were at Deepdale, and manager, Graham Westley, has a job on his hands to even get them back to the Championship.

On the road, The Lilywhites have won two of their last half dozen, and one of those was against the struggling, Hartlepool. The goals have dried up away from home lately, firing blanks against Leyton Orient and Portsmouth, before managing just a single goal in each of their last two.

Millwall look like a solid pick here to make it through to the fourth round and a 1-0 correct score appeals to me as neither side score that many and two of Millwall's last five at home have finished with the same scoreline. 

Tottenham v Coventry  
Back the draw @ 5.8 (24/5)  
Back 'Yes' in the both teams to score market @ 2.05 (21/20)  

It's a repeat of the 1987 cup final here and I fancy Coventry to pull off another shock and snatch a draw at White Hart Lane.

Spurs are in fine form at present, third in the league after winning seven of their last nine. After being held by Stoke just before Christmas, they have gone on to pick up maximum points over the festive period, with six of them coming away from home.

AVB got off to a somewhat sluggish start during his initial games at the Lane. Tottenham won just two of their opening half dozen, losing to Chelsea and Wigan and being held by West Brom and Norwich. Since then they've won four of their next five, but they can look a touch shaky at times, especially if the manager persists with William Gallas in the middle.

Coventry got off to an abysmal start in League One, but since Mark Robins was appointed manager, they have flown up the table. They suffered a shock home defeat to Shrewsbury on New Year's Day, but before that they'd lost just one of 14 in all competitions, winning 11 of them.

The Sky Blues have had some good cup runs in a recent seasons, with victories at Blackburn and Manchester United being the undoubted highlights. They are scoring for fun at present, especially away, as they have netted three or more in each of their last five, so not only is the draw a bit big at 5.8 (24/5), both teams to score is huge at odds-against.

Recommended Bets
Back Crystal Palace @ 2.87 (15/8)  
Back Over 2.5 goals in Crystal Palace v Stoke @ 2.1 (11/10)  
Back Millwall @ 1.66 (4/6) 
Back Millwall to beat Preston 1-0 @ 6.5 (11/2)  
Back a Tottenham v Coventry draw @ 5.8 (24/5)  
Back 'Yes' in the both teams to score market for Tottenham v Coventry @ 2.05 (21/20)  

Prices are based on our Fixed Odds product, so any winnings are exempt from commission.