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FA Cup Predictions & Betting tips

Find our free FA Cup prediction on the final winner, as well as our expert predictions on the 2024-25 matches. Lots of information for your sports betting!

FA Cup presentation and predictions

FA cup trophy

The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is the oldest annual knockout competition in the world of football. The tournament was first held in the 1871/72 season, as has been held every year since (with the exception of WWI and WWII disruptions).

Since 1923 the FA Cup final has been held at Wembley Stadium in London, with the exception of a six year spell at the Millenium Stadium when renovations were taking place. Arsenal hold the record for the most FA Cup titles won by a club at 14. Manchester United are close behind in second-place, with their 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the 2023-24 final bringing them their 13th FA Cup title all time.

The thrill of the FA Cup is when teams get wins over clubs higher than them in the English football pyramid. 'Giant killing' adds so much excitement to the competition. For the smaller clubs, a good run in the FA Cup can earn them valuable revenue. They all dream of getting to the third round and perhaps drawing an away game against one of the top Premier League clubs.

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FA Cup Prediction: who will win the 2024-25 FA Cup?

FA Cup winners' trophy

It’s difficult to offer up a prediction at this point as the domestic season has yet to kick off. Still, it’s likely we see the blue half of Manchester making another deep run in the 2024-25 season.

Pep Guardiola has one of the strongest and deepest squads in the world, which allows his Citizens to maintain a high level of play over the various different competitions throughout the season. Manchester City will have even more incentive this season after bitterly losing the 2023-24 final to their local rivals Manchester United.

With three finals appearances in the last six years, City have an excellent shot at winning their eighth FA Cup title. Our prediction: Manchester City 2024-25 FA Cup champions!

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FA Cup Winner Prediction: Top favourites' outright odds

Manchester City - 4.50
Liverpool - 6.00
Arsenal - 8.00
Chelsea - 8.00
Tottenham - 11.00
Newcastle - 13.00
Manchester United - 15.00
Aston Villa - 17.00
Brighton - 21.00
West Ham - 26.00

Odds taken from Bet365

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FA Cup Finalist Prediction: who will reach the 2024-25 FA Cup final?

It’s not just the winner that you can bet on. Most bookmakers will also offer bets on which teams will make it to the final. Last year we saw a Manchester derby in the final, will that be the case again this year? Pep Guardiola’s men certainly have a good chance at making it to a third consecutive FA Cup finals appearance, as do other top clubs such as Arsenal (seeking their first finals appearance since 2020) and Liverpool.

Just below them, it could also be worth keeping an eye on potential dark horse teams such as Aston Villa, Brighton and Newcastle to make a deep FA Cup run! We’ll know more once the season starts and the draw is made!

The latest odds on who will reach the final

The odds on which teams will make the final are currently unavailable. In the meantime, head over to William Hill to check out other available betting markets.

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Beginners Guide to How the FA Cup Works

The competition begins with the Extra Preliminary Round which is being played this season on August 5. Clubs such as Pickering Town, Tadcaster Albion, Goole and Whitchurch Airport will be beginning their FA Cup campaigns. Who knows, they could make it all the way to the first round proper? Win 14 games and they'll win the FA Cup final but that's for dreamers not gamblers.

The 2024-25 FA Cup sees a total of 745 teams taking part from the Premier League all the way down to the National League System Step 5. They are all bidding to claim one of the 32 places available in the first round proper. That's when the 48 League One and League Two clubs joined the competition. Two rounds are played to determine the 20 clubs who will join the 20 Premier League and 24 Championship teams in the legendary third round of the FA Cup.

The FA Cup Third Round draw is one of the most anticipated events of the season, particularly if a non-League team has reached this stage.

This Third Round is always played at the start of January after which two more rounds are played. The games are played Friday to Monday at this stage. The Fifth Round matches are played in midweek. It's back to the weekend for the last eight and then the two semi-finals are both played at Wembley Stadium. The two winners return to that legendary stadium to play in the final. That's being held on May 25, 2024.

The winner of the cup will qualify for next season's Europa League (unless the team has qualified for that or the Champions League via the Premier League). They also go on to play the Premier League Champions in the Community Shield at Wembley, which is usually held in August the week before the start of the new Premier League season.

Dates for your Diary

The schedule for the 2024-25 season is set! Check out the dates for each round below:

Qualifying rounds begin on 3 August 2024
First Round Proper - 2 November
Second Round Proper - 30 November
Third Round Proper - 11 January 2025
Fourth Round Proper - 8 February 2025
Fifth Round Proper - 1 March
Quarter Finals - 29 March
Semi-Finals - 26 April
Final - 17 May 2025

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How to make good predictions on the FA Cup?

If you wish to be successful in making FA Cup predictions, there are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration. Reading our previews will certainly help you and they're totally free. Below we list the factors that our betting experts believe are of the greatest importance:

Check the form of each club playing during the FA Cup
Look at the fixture list of the English clubs
Make sure you know the team news
How important is the match to each club?
Be aware of the latest statistics of the FA Cup

These five factors will help you make successful FA Cup predictions. Let's now look at each of them in a little more depth.

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Check the form of each club taking part during the FA Cup

It's always important to look at the form of a club before they play their next game. It's a little bit different with the FA Cup though. That's because the starting line-ups fielded won't be as strong as those played in the Premier League. It is an idea therefore to look at the teams that clubs have been fielding for their FA Cup games. How have the fringe players who will be included been getting on? Does fielding a weakened line-up still leave a club with a set of players that can win their cup tie? Struggling sides can do well in cup competitions so take not of that.

Look at the fixture list of the English clubs

FA cup - fixture list

A busy fixture list will decide just how strong a line-up is fielded by teams and not just for the Premier League. If there is an important midweek game coming up, then squad rotation will be even more in use. Most FA Cup games are played at the weekend. However, the fifth round is played in midweek. That means a club could be playing three games in a week. If that is the case, it'll be the FA Cup game that definitely sees plenty of team changes being made.

Make sure you know the team news

Know news team - FA Cup

Knowing the team news is so important when it comes to the FA Cup. As we've mentioned, don't expect to see anything like full strength starting line-ups being played in this competition. That might happen in the latter stages but even then the manager may choose to be loyal to players who helped get them that far. Find out the team line-ups and then decide who to back. The clubs which have such a strong squad that they can make lots of changes are the ones to bet on.

How important is the match to each club?

Importance of each team

Sadly, some clubs don't put the FA Cup at the top of their priority list. They are much more interested in the Premier League or the Championship. That's why so many weakened line-ups are fielded. For some teams though, the FA Cup is important. If they can't qualify for Europe via their final position in the Premier League, then qualifying by winning the FA Cup becomes an important target. Teams from lower leagues will consider the FA Cup to be very important. That was the case with League Two Grimsby Town who got to the last eight in the 2022-23 season. The FA Cup meant prestige and a big cash boost so it was more important than their league games.

Be aware of the latest statistics

latest stats predictions 24-25

Knowing the key statistics is always very helpful and can avoid costly mistakes being made. When you know who's playing for their team, look to see how they've been getting on in previous weeks. Are the strikers scoring lots of goals or going through a bad patch? Are the defenders keeping clean sheets or have forgotten what one is? Look to see how they've played in previous cup games. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to place a good bet.

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What Not to Do For Your FA Cup Predictions

When you are placing your FA Cup bets, there are certain ways to bet that aren't recommended. They can seriously affect the chance of your bets being winning ones. Here are the main ones we feel you should not be doing:

Not doing enough research
Take into account only a club's reputation and not its form
Not checking all the odds on offer and missing the most attractive one
Betting on an FA Cup match without working out how important the game is to each club
Chasing losses - never a good idea.
Placing bets when either tired or upset
Betting on bookmakers' boosted odds without considering why that's the case.
Betting repeatedly on your favorite team - use your head not your heart.
Don't forget this is a cup competition and upsets will happen.

Sometimes it is easy to fall into these behaviors. Always put a lot of thought into every bet that you place. Don't bet when you are upset or tired as this will affect your ability to make the right decisions. Bet carefully, avoid these bad habits and you should be able to do well with your FA Cup bets.

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Key Statistics for your FA Cup predictions

FA Cup Statistics

Knowing the most important statistics is always important when working out your football bets. Here are some of the key statistics from the previous 2023-24 FA Cup campaign:

Home wins percentage: 48%
Draws: 18%
Away wins: 34%
Average goals: 3.48 goals per game
Average home goals: 1.92
Average away goals: 1.56
Over 1.5 goals: 85%
Over 2.5 goals: 68%
Over 3.5 goals: 46%
Over 4.5 goals: 27%
Goal timing distribution: 76-90 minutes (22%)
First half goals: 44%
Second half goals: 56%
“Both teams score: Yes”: 59%
Matches with a clean sheet: 45%
Correct score 0-0: 4.1% of matches
Most frequent score: 2-1 (8.3%)
Most frequent halftime score: 0-0 (26.5%)

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In Short: How to predict FA Cup matches?

FA Cup predictions - betting guide

Let's now take a shorter look at how to make winning FA Cup bets. Ensure you do some research into the game being played. Know the team line-ups and how important the game is to each side. Know the form of the players chosen. If you haven't got the time to do all these, read the previews of our experts as they will be packed with vital information.

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