While in Dublin earlier this week for a promotional gig, Kevin Doyle remarked how he never seemed to get to play in the FA Cup and a quick perusal of the statistics bear that out. In his four years at Reading, they had 11 games  in what our friends across the water never tire of telling us is the most famous knockout competition in the world. I’ve always wondered how they came to such a conclusion but that’s for another day.

Of those matches, Doyle started just one and made a further three substitute appearances, scoring once. The last time he featured in the competition was way back in February 2007 when Reading were beaten 3-2 by Manchester United in a fifth-round replay. That wait should end against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

While Mick McCarthy famously made a raft of changes for what he clearly saw was an unwinnable league game at Old Trafford last month, he did field a strong side in their third-round tie against Tranmere Rovers, although Doyle missed out through illness. That is in contrast to Doyle’s manager at Reading, Steve Coppell, who was one of the first bosses to openly come out and make it clear the competition was a priority.

So, there is s a pretty good chance he will start as McCarthy looks for a morale-boosting win after three successive defeats in the league without scoring a goal. But Crystal Palace have been good on the road this season, losing just three of their 14 games on their travels in all competitions. Therefore, Neil Warnock’s side look well-priced at 10/3 to win.

I’m going to put €10 on a draw at half-time and Palace at full-time at 9/1. Also at 9/1 is Victor Moses – who has been linked with just about every big club in England and the continent – to score the first goal. I’m going to back him with €10 each way. After all, if Moses can part the Red Sea then surely he can split a centre-half pairing of Jody Craddock and Michael Mancienne.

Elsewhere, there are two ties involving Premier League sides hosting League One opposition with Aston Villa at home to Brighton and Leeds United travelling to Tottenham. Yes, Leeds defeated Manchester United but their form has been patchy since and I’m backing two comfortable wins with €10 on the handicap double for a return of €33.82.

With my final tenner, I’m going for an ambitious accumulator of wins for Burnley, Everton and Ipswich Town in the FA Cup and Ghana and Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations for a return of €453.19.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.