FA Cup: Reds ready to put paid to Bluebirds

bet365 News Team Updated: 17 Aug 23 13:57 Published: 05 Feb 22 12:27

The FA Cup fourth round continues on Sunday and there is plenty of scope for shocks across the three matches.

For Liverpool, Leicester and Bournemouth, it will be a case of trying to avoid slipping up against lower league opposition, while Cardiff, Nottm Forest and Boreham Wood will have giant-killing on their minds.

All three games are on the Sports Live Streaming platform, and there is sure to be drama.

Reds must be wary of unlikely Cardiff hoodoo

Liverpool, 5/1 to win the FA Cup, went into the international break off the back of three successive victories and they will fancy their chances of extending that run when Championship outfit Cardiff visit Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's side will once again be without star duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for the match, as they are due to face off against each other in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final, while new signing Luis Diaz is unlikely to be available following his recent exploits with Colombia.

Harvey Elliott is in line to feature, however, with the teenager set to make a timely return after over four months out with a broken ankle, and he could provide some extra ammunition alongside Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota in the final third.

There is no doubt Liverpool will fancy their chances of winning this game at 1/9, but Cardiff will come into the fixture on the back of successive victories in the Championship, results that have helped ease their relegation concerns.

The Bluebirds also hold the surprise advantage in the head-to-head meetings between these two sides, as they have won 18 of the 34 previous clashes compared to Liverpool's 14.

However, before Cardiff fans get too carried away, the last of their victories was in 1959, with Liverpool having triumphed in the six meetings since.

A Cardiff win on Sunday is priced at 25/1, while the draw after 90 minutes can be backed at 8/1.

Forest looking to add another top-flight scalp

Nottm Forest have already picked up one top-flight scalp in this season's FA Cup, seeing off Arsenal at the City Ground in round three, and they will have home advantage once again when they welcome East Midlands rivals Leicester to town.

Forest have gone from Championship strugglers to playoff contenders following Steve Cooper's appointment as manager in September, with the former Swansea boss having only lost four of his 22 matches in charge.

One of those defeats was at Cardiff in Forest's most recent fixture, but at home, the two-time European Cup winners are faultless in their last three and have only lost one of their previous nine at the City Ground.

Injuries and inconsistencies, particularly at the back have cost Leicester at times this season, but the Foxes are the FA Cup holders and will be keen to remain in the hunt to defend their title, which they are 14/1 to defend.

Leicester will remain without several key players for Sunday's match, with Jamie Vardy, Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, Timothy Castagne and Ryan Betrand having all been ruled out.

The depleted Foxes can be backed at 1/1 to beat Forest inside 90 minutes, while the hosts are priced at 11/4 and the draw is 5/2.

Wood hoping to squish Cherries

National League outfit Boreham Wood are one of two non-league sides that made it through to the fourth round and they may well be licking their lips at the possibility of beating Championship promotion hopefuls Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

The Wood themselves are in the midst of a promotion battle in the National League - they will go top if they win all their games in hand - with their run in the FA Cup having helped rather than hindered their league form.

Luke Garrard's side are unbeaten in 16 matches across all competitions and they saw off League One Wimbledon in round three, but this will no doubt be a step up in quality when they face Scott Parker's Bournemouth.

The Cherries sit third in the Championship, but their form has been patchy at best since they saw their long unbeaten start to the season ended by Preston in November.

Two defeats in three for Bournemouth will certainly give Boreham Wood cause for optimism, but with 70 positions between the two sides in the football pyramid and home advantage for the Cherries, it is hard to see beyond a home win at 1/4.

FA Cup romantics can back the Boreham Wood giant killing at 11/1, while the draw is a 5/1 shout.