Round 3 – Wolves’ decisive bite
By David, bettingexpert.com | Published
After the goalless draw in Birmingham the two sides are now called to bring an end of this round three FA Cup decider. At the Molineux Wolves should be favourites especially after getting a huge boost from their weekend draw in London against high-flying Tottenham.
Wolves – Birmingham
Despite being out the relegation zone and after a precious 1-1 draw in the nerve wreaking White Hart Lane stadium on Saturday the Wolves still give the impression they may get embroiled in the relegation battle anytime.
Fletcher is always the one who saves them with his goals but they have a good side nonetheless with quality players from the midfield upwards. Wolves, however, are slaves to McCarthy’s fear in pushing forward too much. He prefers them being cautious and with nobody finding the net with regularity he may not be completely wrong in opting for that.
The last time Wolves won a home match in the Premier League it was eight games ago. Sunderland were into their first match without Bruce but O’Neill had not taken charge of the troop yet. The Black Cats did actually play better but the tide turned in the final twenty minutes as the home side took its chances and dealt an unfair blow.
From that day onwards they had three home games, losing two and drawing one. Against Stoke City and Norwich they displayed their worst football but were much improved in the home defeat at the hands of Chelsea.
Away from home they have fared much better losing only at Old Trafford but drawing another three in the recent streak of seven league matches. And excluding Bolton the other two victims of theirs were high profile London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham.
At home McCarthy’s players feel compelled to take things in their hands. They show their better side at the Molineux but the lack of bite punishes them. They will have a derby to prepare against Aston Villa. A game which McCarthy knows well he will not be forgiven for losing. Recent history has not favoured them but they have won at Villa Park last season.
Unlike Wolves, Birmingham have been doing well, winning four and drawing two of the last seven games in the Championship. Only one of those games was against a top club in the division however. They drew at home against West Ham and that is the only point they can boast when playing the top eight teams in the standings. It has to be said that against all the rest they played away from home though but alas this upcoming cup fixture will be an away match too.
The only wins Birmingham have on the road this season have been recorded against Bristol, Milwall and Nottingham Forrest currently occupying positions twenty to twenty-two in the table.
Verdict: Wolves -0.25
A cup game is never reliable enough for high stakes, especially when it involves these kind of teams at this stage of the competition. Each know that even after the 90 minutes are over the tie may still be open if no goals are scored. However, the weakness shown on the road by Birmingham this season cannot be ignored so I will be going for Wolves to seal passage to the next round.
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