FA Cup predictions: 120/1 accumulator tips & 2nd round odds

Enfield Independent
 
FA Cup predictions: 120/1 accumulator tips & 2nd round odds

York City vs Wigan Athletic predictions

The second round gets underway on Friday night when York City, from the National League, play host to the 2013 FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic. 

A decade on from the Latics' shock FA Cup win, they now find themselves in the bottom half of League One, although trending in the right direction. 

Wigan beat Fleetwood 3-0 in midweek to extend their recent good run of form to six wins and one defeat from the last nine league and FA Cup games.

Boss Shaun Maloney has his side well set up with Stephen Humphrys, Callum Lang Jordan Jones and Martial Good all carrying big threats for Wigan going forward, while they are solid defensively too.

Wigan have registered five clean sheets in the last nine league and FA Cup games and go against a York side missing its top scorer Dipo Akinyemi, who has a hamstring injury.

With Will Davies cup-tied, Lenell John-Lewis is the Minstermen’s only recognised striker. 

York have found the going tough against the better sides in the National League this season and appear likely to come up short in this televised tie.

Crewe vs Bristol Rovers predictions

(3pm Saturday)

League Two Crewe pulled off one of the bigger upsets in the first round of the FA Cup when beating Derby 3-1 at Pride Park in a replay. 

The Railwaymen now have managerless Bristol Rovers in their sights and betting sites make the home side slight underdogs for the tie. 

That potentially could prove a shrewd bet if Crewe can maintain the kind of form that's seen them register six wins from their last nine league and FA Cup games.

Crewe have lost just once at home in the league this season and may be catching third tier Rovers at a good time as their fruitless managerial search shows no signs of coming to an end.

Andy Mangan has been in temporary charge since Joey Barton’s sacking in October and results have been mixed under his watch.

The lack of leadership and direction at the club is reportedly beginning to have an effect on the squad and they look vulnerable away to an attack-minded Crewe side.

Eastleigh vs Reading predictions

(ITV1, 1.30pm Sunday)

Our FA Cup second round long shot comes from the Silverlake Stadium, where National League side Eastleigh host relegation-threatened League One outfit Reading.

The Royals come into this fixture off the back of successive wins, putting Carlisle to the sword 5-1 in midweek to move off the bottom of the table.

However, they lost promising loanee Dan Ballard to a serious knee injury in that game and now head out on the road, where they’ve been dreadful for over a year. Last weekend’s win at Wycombe snapped a run of 11 straight away league defeats stretching back to last season. 

Now they go to Eastleigh, where they’ll come up against the National League’s top scorer Paul McCallum. 

The 30-year-old has bagged 16 goals this season and has netted four in his last three games. His strike partner Scott Quigley is in good form too, notching eight times this season and the Spitfires' front two can ask questions of this young Reading side.

Eastleigh’s home record is decent, winning seven of the last eight at the Silverlake Stadium, including a 5-1 FA Cup first round thrashing of Boreham Wood.

The Spitfires are 3/1 for the win but that price can be bumped up to 6/1 with bet365 if you feel both teams will score. 

Eastleigh have kept only three clean sheets in 24 league and cup games and may not keep out an improving Reading attack. 

ITV viewers should be treated to an open FA Cup tie, with Eastleigh having the potential to spring a surprise.

Chesterfield vs Leyton Orient predictions

(2pm Sunday)

Non-league Chesterfield pulled off a sizeable first-round shock when they beat League One promotion hopefuls Portsmouth at home and are fancied to claim another third-tier scalp on Sunday. 

Leyton Orient head to the SMH Group Stadium having won one of their last eight league and cup games. That sole victory came in the FA Cup first round when they beat Carlisle at home and they head north having needed a last-gasp equaliser to rescue a point at Bristol Rovers in midweek.

Goals are a major concern for the O’s, who have failed to score in seven of their 19 league games this season, and they’ll likely need more than one goal to put down a Chesterfield side averaging three goals per game at home in the National League.

A 3-2 victory over Eastleigh last weekend saw the Spireites move 11 points clear at the top of the National League and they’re on a run of 10 straight wins at home in all competitions.

Promotion back to the Football League is the priority for Chesterfield but they appear to have the capacity for a cup run too and could edge out Orient.

If you are interested in following any of our FA Cup second round predictions, make sure to check out these new betting sites. Many of them offer free bets to new customers which can been used to bet on the FA Cup this weekend.

Chris is an experienced sports betting writer who has worked with most major bookmakers and national media outlets, such as Racing Post and ITN. He covers a wide range of sports with his favourites being NFL, rugby, football and Formula 1.