WILL Championship side Blackburn land a blow against Premier League West Ham on Sunday. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) looks at the match for us.
Blackburn v West Ham | Sunday 14:00 | BT Sport 2
Reading the BBC preview of this game, the commentator Alistair Mann makes a strong case for West Ham to win suggesting there's no logic for an upset but signs off his blurb by saying, “that said…this is the FA Cup.”
Can we just put it out of our minds that this competition in any way breeds shocks? It doesn't and this season's renewal has been a graveyard for those of us who like backing sides at big odds.
With hints of Spring in the air and just 13 teams left in the competition only two Premier League sides have succumbed to lower league sides so far.
Indeed of the 13 sides still in the competition, nine belong to the top flight and Reading are the only non-Premier League side through to the Quarter-Finals.
So far in the competition Premier League sides have met lower league opposition on 27 occasions and came away with these figures: P27 W19 D6 L2.
Those two defeats were suffered by two struggling sides – Swansea and West Brom. You can call West Ham many things, but I wouldn't use the word struggling.
Let's just take a look at West Ham. Slaven Bilic's side are enjoying one of their best ever seasons. They sit seventh in the table, have lost just six of their 26 league matches and have genuine ambitions of winning this trophy.
Bilic eulogises about the FA Cup in a way that feels real and his sides in the competition have been packed with quality. He's talking about fielding his strongest team on Sunday and the vibes look good.
It's been a difficult season for Blackburn. They lie in the bottom six of the Championship after a run of just one win in 10 and the draw has been kind to them in the competition as they've faced two League Two sides.
For me it's simple, West Ham are just a far superior side and seem intent on fielding a strong team on Sunday. Odds of 13/10 feel very fair and I'll be taking them and to show my confidence I'll back them -1.5 goals at a chunky 15/4 with 888 Sport on top of that as I don't forsee an upset. After all, this is the FA Cup.
Best Bets
Blackburn v West Ham – West Ham to win (13/10 BetVictor)
Blackburn v West Ham – West Ham -1.5 Goals (15/4 888 Sport)
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