The Daily Acca: An FA Cup 8/1 Treble | OneFootball

Chelsea are strong contenders for the FA Cup this season

It's an 8/1 FA Cup treble for Paul Robinson today, and it features two of the late televised matches.

Leg 1 Coventry (90mins) @ 7/4 (15:00)

The Sky Blues were FA Cup semi-finalists last season, and they were arguably robbed of a place in the final when a last minute was disallowed.

Things have moved on quite a bit since then though. Mark Robins departed following a poor start to the campaign, and while Frank Lampard has taken them to just three points off the Play-offs, their momentum was halted by a 0-2 home defeat to Leeds on Wednesday.

They face Premier League opposition in the shape of Ipswich Town today, but I'd actually rate their Wednesday opponent as a better side than the Tractor Boys.

The visitors have struggled since their promotion to the top flight, and they are second from bottom having just lost four on the bounce - including a 1-2 home loss last weekend to bottom of the table, Southampton.

Leg 2 Newcastle (90mins) 8/13 (17:45)

Birmingham have done as well as expected since their relegation to League One, as they are well on course to come straight back up. That being said, victories over the likes of Rotherham, Huddersfield and Exeter, doesn't compare in any way to the test they will face this evening at St Andrew's.

Eddie Howe's men are on a high following their qualification for the Carabao Cup Final, giving them a great opportunity to win their first trophy major trophy since 1955.

It will be interesting to see what kind of side Howe plays at Birmingham, but they don't have European commitments this season, and I can't see the manager going too weak for this away tie.

Leg 3 Chelsea (90mins) @ 11/10 (20:00)

Brighton were humiliated at Nottingham Forest last weekend, but they were also beaten 0-1 here by Everton the week before, and that makes me think that Chelsea are a good bet at odds-against to win at the Amex.

The Blues put their 3-1 Etihad defeat behind them by coming from behind to beat West Ham 2-1 on Monday, and while they have dropped out of contention for the title, Enzo Maresca's team are certainly better than they were last season.

Chelsea have actually won the last four meetings between these two, and that includes one on this ground back in May.

Now check out Alan Shearer's thoughts on this weekend's FA Cup ties

Daily Acca 2024/25 P/L

Wagered: 121pts

Returned: 107.27pts

P/L: -13.73pts