James Milton: FA Cup & EFL predictions & free betting accumulator tips

Free football tips, bets and analysis for this weekend's FA Cup, EFL and European action.

Best bets

Norwich
2pts 7-5 general
Bristol City
1pt 11-4 Betfred
Peterborough
2pts 6-4 Betway

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Barnsley v Norwich City

3pm Saturday

Norwich have looked a cut above most of their Championship opponents this season and they can demonstrate that superiority on their FA Cup fourth-round trip to Barnsley.

The teams met at Carrow Road in the league on January 2 when Canaries midfielder Emi Buendia, heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, scored the only goal of the game.

Norwich manager Daniel Farke suggested that 4-0 or 5-0 might have been a fairer reflection of his side's dominance and they made no mistake against Coventry, another Championship side, in the third round of the cup.

Goals from Kenny McLean and Jordan Hugill put the Canaries 2-0 up inside seven minutes despite the fact that Farke made seven changes to his starting 11.

That depth of quality bodes well for the cup tie at Barnsley, who are having a fine season but tend to come up short against the stronger teams in the second tier.

Eight of the Tykes' ten league wins have come against teams below them in the table and they have lost seven of their eight clashes with top-six sides, failing to score a goal in any of those defeats.

Millwall v Bristol City

3pm Saturday

Millwall have won just two of their 13 home matches in all competitions this season, one of them an EFL Cup victory over League Two Cheltenham, and they look vulnerable favourites to beat Bristol City in the FA Cup fourth round.

The Robins are one of only three teams Millwall have beaten in their last 17 games – the others are Huddersfield on Wednesday and non-league Boreham Wood in the third round of the cup – but they are a tempting price to avenge December's 2-0 Championship defeat.

Both teams had long midweek trips in the league. Millwall pinched a 1-0 win over the Terriers, who had 69 per cent of possession and missed a penalty, while Bristol City lost 2-0 at leaders Norwich.

Last weekend, however, the Robins produced an impressive defensive display to beat Preston 2-0 – a third straight home win after seeing off Wycombe in the league and Portsmouth in the FA Cup.

Despite an injury-hit campaign, Bristol City are ten points better off than Millwall and have won ten of their 16 games against teams below them in the table.

And Millwall's miserable tally of nine goals in 11 home matches suggest the Robins have little to fear from their trip to Bermondsey.

Ipswich Town v Peterborough United

3pm Saturday

Ipswich won their first six home games in League One this season, conceding only one goal, but more recently they have struggled against some of the division's big hitters.

The Tractor Boys were beaten at home by promotion rivals Hull (3-0), Charlton (2-0) and Portsmouth (2-0) while lowly Swindon got in on the act with a 3-2 victory at Portman Road on January 9.

Pompey also knocked Ipswich out of the FA Cup on their own patch and the Suffolk side could struggle to subdue in-form Peterborough this weekend.

A second-half brace from Sammy Szmodics helped Posh come from behind to beat Charlton 2-1 on Tuesday, following a 3-0 league win over MK Dons and a 5-1 hammering of Portsmouth in the EFL Trophy.

They held highflying Lincoln to a 1-1 draw in their last away game despite playing the final quarter of the match with ten men.

Most of Peterborough's best work has been done at London Road this term but they won 2-1 away to leaders Hull in October while Ipswich have lost five of their six games against teams, like Posh, in the top six.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Crewe
The Railwaymen have won five of their last six home games in League One and should fancy their chances against struggling Wimbledon, who have conceded 23 goals in their last eight league matches.

Blowout
Sunderland
The inconsistent Black Cats should be swerved at home to Shrewsbury, who have lost only one of their last 11 in League One and competed well at Southampton in their first game after a Covid-19 outbreak.

Accumulator
West Ham 3-10, Crewe 31-40, Leicester 8-11, Lazio 7-10. £1 accumulator returns £6.81 with Betway.

Both teams to score
Games at Udinese 4-5, Wigan 17-20, Chelsea 6-5. £1 treble returns £7.33 with Betway.

Thought for the week

Watford's latest manager Xisco Munoz paid a handsome tribute to Troy Deeney after the skipper's penalty earned the Hornets a 1-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday.

"Troy is a special man for me," Munoz explained. "He is the big story here – it's important I have a good relationship with him because he's a special man and every time he gives 200 per cent for the team."

With Deeney putting in that kind of superhuman effort, surely an immediate return to the Premier League is nailed on for Watford?

Their home form is certainly the stuff of champions, with ten wins, two draws and just one defeat in 13 games at Vicarage Road, but their record on the road is staggeringly poor for a team with serious hopes of promotion.

Watford have scored just five goals in 11 away matches and that stat must concern Xisco as six of his side's next nine league fixtures are away from home, beginning at Stoke on Friday and culminating in a trip to promotion rivals Bournemouth at the end of February.

Once they have negotiated that run, the Hornets must still travel to Norwich, Brentford and Middlesbrough so promotion odds of 11-8 look short even with that "special man" leading the line.

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