STRIKE A POSE: Arsenal fans catch a glimpse of the lesser spotted Andrei Arshavin

‘Please do not watch the show through a screen on your smart device/camera. Put that s*** away as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian.’

This was the message fans received as they entered New York’s Webster Hall to watch the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s latest offering to the indie world.

Videoing a concert on a mobile phone is now common place with the technological advancements of the smart phones. The crowd is full of bright LED screens, often more illuminating than the stage itself.

They should change the line ‘throw your hands in the air if you just don’t care’, to ‘carefully raise your arms and hold them as still as possible like a tripod to ensure optimum viewing on Youtube. Ignore whatever song is played’.

Football fan videos are the latest social sensation. Lads and lasses at the game capturing decisive moments on their phone and uploading them to YoutTube to share on Facebook and Twitter.

Cue a few seconds of crowd mumbling about a certain player, before said player bangs in the free-kick and starts a good couple of minutes of ear-deafening noise and blurry footage of the sky/stadium roof.

Love them or hate them there are plenty knocking about. Here at the Paddy Power Blog we’ve picked out our favourites from this season, starting with arguably the most dramatic 30 seconds of football ever seen in a play-off semi-final.

Disagree? Don’t sit at your computer and moan at us, that hurts our feelings. Instead, tell us the ones we missed and we might even include them.

Troy Deeney v Leicester City

Robin van Persie v Manchester City

Gareth Bale v Lyon

Jordan Rhodes v Burnley

Aden Flint v Brentford

Tony Watt v Barcelona

As a bonus, here is the commentary from that game

WATSON’S WINNER: The header that secured a 300/1scorecast

By Josh Powell | Betting news

#IfWeKnewThen

It was the biggest shock in London since Dirty Den reappeared on Albert Square. Wigan upset money-bags Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup Final to win the trophy for the first time in their history. Ben Watson was the man who powered home a header in the final few minutes to ensure he has a JJB loyalty card for life off Chairman Dave Whelan.

Wigan fans will be happy to know that the team that has won the FA Cup has never been relegated in the same year, but a handful of fans will be happier than most.

Three Paddy Power punters had a stroke of punting genius, backing the 300/1 scorecast of Ben Watson and Wigan 1-0. The drinks are on you folks!

But the punishment Paddy was suffering didn’t stop there. The Latics were massive underdogs and the Wembley upset sent the traders in Power Tower scampering.

• 300/1 - Ben Watson to score first and Wigan to win 1-0
• 25/1 – Wigan 10 win 1-0
  
• 9/1 – Wigan to win in 90 minutes (Betting in-running after 85 minutes)
• 15/2 – Wigan to win in 90 minutes (pre-match)
• 11/2 – Wigan to win in 90 minutes (Betting in-running at half-time)
• 4/1 – Wigan to lift the cup (pre-match)

If you see Paddy out and about in town tonight then give him a hug. If you see Roberto Mancini give him one as well. They’ve both had tough days.

Find out more of the biggest wins this season in our punting hall of fame

If you haven’t seen Ben Watson’s winner yet we’ve got it right here 

It was his header in the dying minutes of the FA Cup Final that won the cup for Wigan in the biggest upset since Wimbledon’s win in 1988. 15/2 shots Wigan beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley to win the trophy for the first time in their history.

The game wasn’t the walk-over many people expected with Paddy Power punters backing 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 wins for Manchester City. But the Citizens were down to ten men with 10 minutes to go as Pablo Zabaleta correctly saw red for a second yellow card as he brought down Callum McManaman.

McManaman tormented the City defence all evening and picked up the Man of the Match award, but it was Watson’s goal as the clock ticked past 90 minutes that separated the sides.

It might not save Wigan from relegation but the Latics can enjoy the party tonight and relive this thumping winner over and over again.

Cheers to @FeintZebra for the GIF work

Take a look at our compilation of footballing madness in our GIF archive

Still, there are some crackers in here to enjoy. If the betting on today’s game is anything to go by, one of the many goals Man City are expected to spank past Wigan should be a bit decent.

We’ve seen a lot of bets on City to win 8-0, 7-0 and 6-0 so far. It’s not just the City fans who fancy a one-way trouncing.

It is the FA Cup though and there is talk of it possessing magical qualities so let’s not count Wigan out just yet. Let’s at least wait until 5.30pm this evening.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: History tells us Wigan enjoy playing at Wembley

By Josh Powell | FA Cup Final, Manchester City v Wigan

Plenty of punters are writing Wigan off already and Adrian Chiles hasn’t even hit our screens. A quick look through the book and there has even been more than 35 bets on Manchester City to win 8-0. If there were any die-hard Wigan fans in existence, they’d probably tell you themselves that a Latics win is as likely as Dave Whelan picking up a Nobel Peace Prize.

But if you don’t follow your dream, you’ll never have a dream come true. Or something like that. I think Bradley Cooper said something similar in a RomCom the missus had on last night.

Wigan fans on the three coaches heading down from the North West have more reason to be optimistic than you might think. The Latics are 4/1 to lift the FA Cup and punters who have had a cheeky punt on them might want to remember these stats next time someone questions your betting skills in the pub this evening.

• Wigan have never lost an FA Cup Final in their history
• Manchester City have lost 44 per cent of FA Cup Finals they have reached
• Wigan are unbeaten in this year’s FA Cup
• The Latics have a 100 per cent record at the new Wembley
• Manchester City have just an 80 per cent record at the new Wembley. They lost the 2011 Community Shield there to Manchester United.
• Wigan have never conceded a goal at the new Wembley
• But Manchester City have conceded six in five games there

You can’t argue with cold-hard facts and Wigan’s record underneath the Wembley arch is considerably better than City’s.

They might be favourites to be relegated. They might have conceded nine goals in the last four games. But why concern yourself with current form when there is a cauldron of FA Cup magic brewing somewhere underneath the Wembley turf?

Dive in here to place your FA Cup Final bets, but don’t necessarily bank on Wigan. They are massive underdogs for a very good reason and this article is mostly satire.

Expert football pundit and analyst Andy Gray is hoping to earn a few pennies for Saturday night and he’s using the FA Cup Final to fund his disco dancing. He’s joined the Paddy Power Blog team to give his verdict on the FA Cup Final between Manchester City and Wigan.

Manchester City v Wigan, ITV, 5.15pm

Everyone will expect Manchester City to win this well – but I’m not so sure. Roberto Mancini’s side have had much the better of it in the Barclays Premier League meetings and haven’t lost to Wigan in their last nine games.

I’ve delved into the form book and these sides have met 25 times since 1971. Nearly half of those games – 12 to be precise – have finished 1-0 to either side with four ending in 1-1 draws.

So almost two-thirds of these games have been that close so we’ll have to consider that although I fancy Manchester City to win given their squad, flair players and ability to get results when they really need them.

I was at Goodison Park when Roberto Martinez’s side beat a good Everton in the quarter-final and if they can repeat that kind of performance they’ll surprise a few.

But I expect City to win – but it won’t be by much. A 1-0 scoreline is 13/2 with Paddy Power and that looks about right to me.

• Jump in to all the betting for the FA Cup Final here

TO A NIGHT WE’LL NEVER FORGET: Thanks to some clever FA Cup bets

By Josh Powell | FA Cup Final Manchester City v Wigan

Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement might have slightly overshadowed the FA Cup Final but at least that saves us from any ridiculous tripe Dave Whelan might come up with in the build-up to the game. Adrian Chiles will spend a solid TWO HOURS on our TV before the game spewing ‘FA Cup magic’ stuff but, let’s be honest, Wigan will need every spell in the book to conjure a shock on Saturday.

Manchester City are the red-hot 4/11 favourites to win in 90 minutes and 1/7 to lift the FA Cup. It’s not a massively attractive price for punters looking to have a dabble on the Final so here’s 5 bets at better odds which could set you up for a wild Saturday night.

Manchester City to win to nil – 5/4

Bobby Mancini’s men have beaten Wigan without conceding in the last seven meetings between these two. It has been almost 12 hours since Wigan troubled a City keeper which has given Joe Hart plenty of time to consider his next shampoo advert. In the nine games against Chelsea, Arsenal, City, United and Liverpool this season Wigan have scored just once so back them to draw a blank again on Sunday.

Under 2.5 goals – 5/4

Plenty of punters are expecting City to dish out a thrashing to Wigan whose defence has looked as reliable as the Irish weather. But FA Cup Finals don’t tend to be goal-fests. In the last 20 years 70 per cent of Finals have had under 2.5 goals including City’s 1-0 win over Stoke in 2011. Wigan’s last three games have had over 2.5 goals but the final will be a tighter affair. Backing the unders might not be the cool thing to be on in the pub, but it could be the smarter choice.

Manchester City to win 1-0 – 13/2

This game could pan out very similar to City’s 1-0 Final win over Stoke, with the plucky underdogs defending hard and trying to catch the big boys on the break. Clearly Stoke’s defence is slightly stronger than Wigan’s ragtag back four but three of the last five head-to-heads have finished 1-0 to City so it is very plausible.

Carlos Tevez to score first – 4/1

Tevez has been slightly under the radar this season. When we say under the radar, he hasn’t refused to come off the bench, gone AWOL for six months or held up any ‘RIP Fergie’ signs for a while. What he has been doing is bagging a few goals; 11 in the league this year, and only Edin Dzeko has more at City. The Argentinian has had 101 shots in the league this year, more than any other City player and takes an average of 3.2 shots per game. Using some flawless logic he hasn’t scored in over four and a half hours of football so he’s probably due one.

Yaya Toure to score and Manchester City to win – 5/2

If you’re a punter who chants the mantra ‘horses for courses’ than look no further than a Yaya Toure goal. The midfielder has three goals in five games at Wembley, bagging the winners against Manchester United and Stoke in 2011. Whether it is the over-priced seats, the corporate sandwiches or the way the turf cuts up because of last month’s Atomic Kitten gig Toure loves Wembley. It would be no surprise to see Yaya on the scoresheet again as City lift the cup.

• Discover all the FA Cup Final odds and maybe even win a few bob right here
  

I’M JUST A GOAL MACHINE: Feeding my fantasy. Luis Suarez lives for goals and Girls Aloud songs

By Josh Powell | Trader insight

Paddy Power has got his eyes on the US Masters this weekend but there is a quality weekend of Premier League action to look forward to as well, and if that wasn’t spicy enough, both FA Cup semi-finals.

While Paddy tears his hair out watching Rory McIlroy miss another putt for par we’ve taken the opportunity to look through the books at the five best backed players to score first this weekend.

1. Luis Suarez 13/5

Luis Suarez making the top of this list is as predictable as Justin Bieber churning out more ear-bleeding records. The Liverpool striker has 22 goals this season and tops the leading goalscorer chart ahead of his trip to the Madjeski Stadium. It has been three games since Suarez found the back of the net but punters are crashing in on him to score first against a Reading side who have the worst defensive record in the top flight. The relegation-doomed side are leakier than a second-hand sieve and Paddy Power will be left emptying his pockets if Suarez nets first.

• Betting: Reading v Liverpool

2. Papiss Cisse 9/2

The Newcastle striker has rediscovered his form and Paddy Power punters aren’t slow in catching on. The Magpies’ number nine has five goals in his last seven games and scored in Newcastle’s last three consecutive matches. New Sunderland managers have a tremendously crap record in their first Tyne-Wear derby and Papiss Cisse will be one of the main men trying to take advantage.

• Betting: Newcastle v Sunderland
  

3. Robin van Persie 7/2

Robin van Persie has now gone almost 12 hours without scoring. It’s a record the likes of which hasn’t been seen around Manchester since Phil Neville was trying to get his mooch on in The Birdcage. That doesn’t seem to be phasing many punters though who are still happy to back him against a struggling Stoke side. Paddy Power seemed quite smug about laying the Dutchman until he discovered RVP has scored eight times in seven appearances against The Potters.

• Betting: Stoke v Manchester United
  

FIVE STAR BENTEKE: Can the striker score in a fifth consecutive game? Pic: Getty

4. Christian Benteke 4/1

Despite Aston Villa’s worrying position in the table this is a sensible bet from punters. Paul Lambert’s side have won three of the last four league games and Benteke has found the back of the net in each of the last four matches. Crisis? What crisis? Fulham are as reliable on the road as your mates 1997 Nissan Micra and Villa can crawl even closer to safety with a win on Saturday. Benteke has been well backed to take advantage at Paddy’s expense.

• Betting: Aston Villa v Fulham
  

5. Danny Shittu 33/1

We’ve got a feeling a few punters have had a few too many pints of the good stuff this week after seeing a considerable whack of cash for Danny Shittu. It’s one of those things we’d throw in as a joke in other articles but you couldn’t make this one up. He might not have a league goal in over five years but the 32-year-old centre-back has two goals in three FA Cup games for Millwall this season. He is prolific! It would be incredible if the big man could head his team in front on Sunday, and at 33/1 Paddy will have to cancel that trip to Augusta.

• Betting: Wigan v Millwall
  

Chicharito must have thought he had shouldered United back level, but out of nowhere, the Czech stopper threw out a hand to knock it over. Amazing save and oddly mesmerizing even after watching it 20 times in succession:

United are coasting to league title number 20 and are looking to add an FA Cup to that inevitability, while Rafa Benitez is reportedly desperate to win it because it looks better on his CV than ‘finished 4th in the Premier League with Chelsea’. The Blues fans don’t like that.

I’ll be here to keep you up to date with all the latest news, snarky comments and #RAFAOUT campaigns for the early afternoon kick-off. If you’re away from a TV, out and about or you just hate ITV’s sport coverage, I’ll keep you up to speed with all the latest happenings.

Full Time
Chelsea 1 – 0 Manchester United – BET NOW

======================================================

2.29pm: Petr Cech hands Demba Ba the oversize bottle of Budweiser that looks more like a booby prize than something you’d actually want for recognition of his Man of the Match performance.

2.21pm: FULL TIME! Phil Dowd brings the game to an end and it’s a Chelsea win. It was a far better second half, but still a bit of a let down. Chelsea just about did enough to shade it, helped by a lot of United players not really turning up.

2.19pm: Another chance for Van Persie, but it’s another miss. He gets his head on to a Young cross, but it goes harmlessly over.

SUB! Demba Ba goes off and Fernando Torres comes. Substitution show-boating from Rafa.

2.17pm: SUB AND FOUR ADDED MINUTES OF FERGIE TIME! Oscar comes off for Chelsea and Victor Moses comes on. Fergie gets four minutes to stay in the cup, which is probably about half the time he was expecting.

2.15pm: CHANCE AND YELLOW CARD! Mata gets a half chance which De Gea saves. Seconds later he gets booked for talking Valencia out of it. Oscar goes into the book, his is for a challenge on Young.

2.13pm: GREAT CHANCE! Van Persie wastes a good chance from about eight yards out. He’s picked out superbly, but he can’t keep his first time half volley down and it sails over.

2.11pm: Oscar has a shot. The Chelsea fans nearly wet themselves with excitement, but the replays show it was well wide.

2.09pm: More weather chat mixed with sarcasm from Tyldesley. Such a shame just as we were starting to enjoy the game.

2.07pm: Mata goes down and the Chelsea fans shout for a free-kick. I have to agree – that was a shocking challenge. From the ball.

2.06pm: SUB! United make their final change as Danny Welbeck goes off after doing not much and Ashley Young comes on.

2.05pm: Mata has a shot from the edge of the box. It goes narrowly over.

2.03pm: BOOKING! Azpilicueta gets a yellow for bad tackle.

2pm: Ramires fires a shot wide. Chelsea are looking more likely to extend their lead than United are to equalise. But that hasn’t stopped United pulling it out of the fire before:

Match odds: Chelsea 1/4 | Draw 7/2 | United 19/1

1.58pm: Nani knows he hasn’t had a good game. He looks distraught on the United bench:

1.54pm: GLORIOUS CHANCE! Eden Hazard latches on to a crap pass from Michael Carrick. He surges into the box and just when it looks like he’s done all the hard work, he scuffs his shot wide from about 12 yards out with just the keeper to beat. That was a great chance for Chelsea to move one step closer to the FA Cup and pretend this season hasn’t been a total disaster.

1.51pm: SUB! Nani gets a well deserved hook and Ryan Giggs comes on.

Elsewhere, the replays prove Juan Mata was right – about De Gea making that save, not his patchy teenage-style beard.

1.50pm: Mata fires into the side-netting from close range. He wants a corner, but he doesn’t get it.

1.49pm: SUB! It’s the beginning of the cavalry as Robin Van Persie comes on and Tom Cleverley makes way.

1.47pm: AMAZING SAVE! Petr Cech comes up with an absolute cracker of a save to deny Chicharito. I would say it was a header, but it clearly came off the Mexican’s shoulder. He throws a hand at it and the ball goes narrowly over.

1.46pm: YELLOW CARD! Bertrand gets a caution for cynically chopping down Chicharito in midfield.

1.45pm: Chelsea have gained in confidence since the goal and are controlling things. De Gea is forced into a girly punch that just about does the business.

1.41pm: YELLOW CARD! Tom Cleverley goes into the book for a pretty poor lunge on Ramires. Maybe even a case for a red? We’ve seen them given.

1.38pm: Match odds: Chelsea 4/11 | Draw 3/1 | United 9/1
Chelsea are the hot favourites to see it out from here, which may be a bit of a mistake considering some of their recent performances. United are a tempting 9/1, but that excludes extra time if we get it.

1.36pm: GOAL! 1-0 CHELSEA! Finally we get some quality and it’s a goal completely out of keeping with what we’ve seen so far. Mata chips a ball into the United box and Ba gets on to the end of it to hook it beyond De Gea on the volley. Great goal and maybe that will spark some more excitement.

1.34pm: CHANCE! You wouldn’t really call it a half chance or even a quarter of a chance, but Ba somehow flicks a leg out at a cross and sends it goalwards. De Gea saves comfortably.

1.31pm: United start the second half. No further changes for either team. Let’s home the quality of football changes rather substantially.

1.25pm: The ITV gang are still debating if that Chicharito shot that Cech made a meal of keeping out moved in the air. Roy says it didn’t, but Lee Dixon disagrees:

it’s hard to see in slow motion

says Lee, somewhat missing the entire point of slow motion.

1.23pm: Peter Schmeichel gives us a glimpse of what’s likely to be going on in the United dressing room right now:

Interesting to see if SAF makes any changes at halftime.
Don't think so, but Nani's hair won't be wet….for sure..!—
Peter Schmeichel (@Pschmeichel1) April 01, 2013

1.21pm: The toughest job in football isn’t managing United or Cheslea – it’s having to edit a highlights reel for that first half.

1.18pm: Nani has been asked for a urine sample at half time. He can’t produce however as he’s even struggling to pass water at the moment.

1.16pm: Jon Obi Mikel finds himself on the edge of the United box and rather than fainting with surprise, he gets a shot away. It’s blocked and De Gea claims the resulting corner. The ref decides that’s enough of this tripe and blows for HALF TIME.

1.14pm: There’s a half arsed penalty shout for United and then some half-arsed goal mouth scrambling. It comes to nothing,, but United are certainly starting to threaten more.

There’s thankfully only one added minute.

1.10pm: CHANCE/DODGY GOALKEEPING Chicharito has shot from distance and it moves in the hair. Cech throws his legs at it and keeps it out – just about. The commentators go a bit ‘Carry On’ and say it ‘went both ways’ and it’s a ‘double swinger’ making it sound more like David Walliams than a football. The replays confirm it didn’t move that much.

1.07pm: Much better from Nani. Not only does he avoid giving the ball straight back to Chelsea, but he fizzes in a decent shot that Petr Cech has covered.

At the other end, Hazard combines with Oscar and blasts a shot over the bar from the edge of the box. It’s not quite a good game yet, but it;s certainly less crap than it has been.

1.06pm: Following a Chelsea corner, Ramires has a shot from distance. It’s not very good, but it still counts as about the 3rd most exciting thing to have happened in this game.

1.04pm: Chelsea win a free-kick on the edge of the edge of the box. By that I mean it’s not really shooting distance, but that doesn’t stop David Luiz. Sideshow Bob’s doppelganger tries to do that weird ‘make the ball wobble’ thingy, but blasts it high over De Gea’s bar.

1.02pm: Oh more excitement. Ba gets into a good position, but Smalling gets in the way to block his goal bound shot. With this moderately exciting football, you are really spoiling us.

1pm: Half and hour gone and we get our first meaningful attack of the game. Hazard tees up Demba Ba from about 16 yards out but his low shot is stopped by De Gea’s foot and it goes out for a throw.

12.57pm: Chicharito does well to make some space for himself just inside the Chelsea box. Just as he’s about to shoot, he realises he has no left foot and slips instead.

12.55pm: United work their way into the Chelsea box and so little has happened, it qualifies as entertainment. Cleverley’s speculative cross is cut out without ever looking likely to find a United player.

12.54pm: 25 minutes gone and Tylsley admits that it’s a ‘strange game’. And by ‘strange’ I take it he means ‘shit’.

12.51pm: SUB! Ashley Cole pulls up suddenly. He looks lamer than an episode of Miranda. Ryan Bertrand comes on.

12.48pm: Nani has been BAD so far. Real BAD:

12.45pm: 15 minutes in and we get the most interesting event of the match so far. Chris Smalling takes a Hazard shot in the plums. After a bit of a rub and grimace, he’s up straight away. What a trooper.

12.40pm: It’s still very slow at the Bridge. So slow that Rafa Benitez decides there’s no need to take pointless notes in that mini notebook of his and he slips it in his pocket. #RAFAOUT

12.37pm: Nani has found himself confined to defensive duties early on, but he’s doing well. He’s winning a lot of ball. For Chelsea.

12.36pm: It’s been a slow start to the game. So much so that Clive Tylesly is talking about the weather. It’s cold don’t ya know?

12.32pm: Despite naming what looked like an attacking team, Chicharito has started as the lone striker for United with Valencia slotting in at right back.

12.30pm: After an awkward handshake between Rafa and Fergie, Chelsea kick off. The teams wear blue and red respectively in the way you’d expect.

12.26pm: Adrian Chiles tries to deflate the Sky Sports bubble by pointing out ‘This could be the last meaningful game of the season for Manchester United.’ No need to watch Sky for the rest of the year so. I’ll just keep my TV tuned to ITV were I can watch such delights as re-runs of Bergerac and celebrities eating kangaroo balls for money.

12.22pm: Fergie is getting extra Scottish as he gets older. He’s asked to explain the logic behind his team selection and he says a lot of stuff that’s essentially inaudible. A lot like this:

Freshness … mumble mumble … Energy … mumble mumble … Hamstring

12.21pm: Matt on Twitter asks:

@paddypower anychance of me puttin a tenner on Keane punching Chiles in the 37th minute?—
The Reverend Matt© (@matt1878kay) April 01, 2013

Yes, but it would a shorter price than the 21/10 currently available for a United win.

12.13pm: Rafa says his omission of Terry, Lampard and Torres is purely down to the proximity of this game to Saturday’s match. He explains the choice by saying some of the following:

It’s not often in the club’s history that they have two games in less than 48 hours. That’s why I left them out. Expect Torres – he’s just a bit shit.

12.05pm: Lee Dixon, Gareth Southgate and Roy Keane join Adrian Chiles in the ITV studio. It takes Keane about 0.3 seconds to give Chiles a vicious death-stare:

12.02pm: Normally Fergie uses vague references to groin injuries BEFORE international breaks. This time he’s conveniently using AFTER Rooney comes back from England duty. The BBC’s Phil McNulty tells us:

Rooney exclusion is because of a groin injury picked up on England duty. #bbcfootball—
Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) April 01, 2013

I think the truth is Wayne overdid it on the Easter eggs.

11.51am: TEAM NEWS
The teams are in and it’s pretty juicy. Not really for Chelsea who name a fairly straightforward team in view of the team RAfa picked for Saturday. John Terry and Frank Lampard are on the bench while Ba and Mata return to the starting line-up.

Chelsea
Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Oscar, Mata, Hazard, Ba

There are a few surprises in the United line-up. It had been assumed that Wayne Rooney would swan back into the team after missing out on Saturday, but that’s not the case and he’s gone with the combination of Chicharito and Welbeck. Rooney isn’t even on the bench, which is such a public slap in the face, it must make you wonder about his future at the club.

Manchester United
De Gea, Jones, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Nani, Hernandez, Welbeck

Expert football pundit and analyst Andy Gray joins The Paddy Power Blog to give his insight on the weekend’s televised FA Cup quarter-finals and the Premier League showdown between Liverpool and Tottenham and Reading and Aston Villa.

Andy’s gone for Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United to deliver a home treble at 4/1 [Click to Tweet] 

Everton v Wigan, Live ITV1, Saturday, 12.45pm

David Moyes desperately wants to deliver a trophy to the Goodison Park faithful. It’s their first home draw in the tournament and Everton can ask for no more.

Wigan could decide to concentrate on staying in the Premier League and maybe rest a few players and that will suit the home side. With a top-four place slipping away Everton will be doubly determined to get to a Wembly semi-final.

Nikica Jelavic is struggling for goals while Marouane Fellaini is a threat. But Leighton Baines takes the penalties and free-kicks and could reward punters at 10/1 to get the game’s first goal or 16/5 to score at anytime. Everton to score from the spot is 7/2.

• Betting: Everton v Wigan 

Reading v Aston Villa, Live, Setanta Sports, Saturday, 3pm

Has Reading’s bubble burst?  The 3-0 loss to Wigan was demoralising. Villa lost 1-0 to City last Monday and are in real danger of going down but in Christian Benteke have a match winner up front and he will be a handful for the Reading defence. Benteke is 5/1 to get the first goal and Villa are 21/10 to win and that is a good bet. Benteke to score at anytime and Villa to win pays 7/2 in the Wincast market.

• Betting: Reading v Aston Villa 

Manchester City v Barnsley, Live ESPN, Saturday, 5.30pm

This is a massive ask for Barnsley. I think the handicapper has been generous to the Yorkshire side and City (-2) @10/11 looks the bet at least.  I can see the Citizens winning to nil at 5/6 or even doing what they did to Leeds in the last round and winning 4-0 at 8/1 with Paddy Power. 

•  Betting: Manchester City v Barnsley 

Millwall v Blackburn, Live ESPN, Sunday, 2pm

This tie suits both clubs with the prospect of a Wembley visit on the horizon. Michael Appleton has done a good job since he’s taken over and Jordan Rhodes is always a goal threat and is 9/2 to get the first goal. It’s a hard one to call and even the bookies can’t split them. Blackburn won’t mind a replay at Ewood Park so I’m going to plump for the draw at 23/10.

• Betting: Milwall v Blackburn 

Liverpool v Tottenham, Live Sky Sports 1, 4pm

There’s a belief and a confidence about this Spurs side that I haven’t seen for a while. But Liverpool have had two good wins after a sticky spell and in Luis Suarez have a top-class striker. I fancy both teams to score at 4/7 but with home advantage Liverpool can win this at 19/20. There won’t be much in this and a 2-1 scoreline sounds about right at 7/1 or Liverpool to win by exactly one goal is 13/5 in Paddy Power’s winning margin market.

• Betting; Liverpool v Tottenham 

Manchester United v Chelsea, Live ITV1, Sunday, 4.30pm

Alex Ferguson will make two or three changes to his starting line-up and they’ll be ready to go again. United will be bang up to win this game.  I saw Chelsea in mid-week and they didn’t look great and Rafa may have to freshen things up too.

United should win this though and with all the controversy over Wayne Rooney mid-week I wouldn’t be surprised if he responded to his critics by hitting the back of the net.

There’s usually plenty of goals in their Premier League games and I’d look at both teams to score at 4/7 with Rooney to score the first goal at 9/2.

And if Wayne Rooney scores the last goal in this match, we will refund all losing First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score & Scorecast singles on the game.

• Betting: Manchester United v Chelsea
• Betting: Football Matches 

SINGING THE BLUES: Can Rafa pick up the FA Cup on the way to getting his P45? Pic:Getty

By Andrew Robinson | Middlesbrough v Chelsea, FA Cup

Tonight sees a clash of two clubs going through a bit of a mini crisis in their respective leagues. Lucky then, that this is an FA Cup tie.

Beleaguered Chelsea gaffer Rafa Benitez takes his side to the no doubt cold and wet Riverside tonight to take on Tony Mowbray’s Middlesbrough, with both teams looking to get out of something of a rut.

The interim Blues boss is reportedly at war with his squad after their defeat against Manchester City at the weekend, with the coup being led by, yep you guessed it, England’s brave John Terry.

Why doesn’t Roman Abramovich just give him the job? He tries to control the boss anyway, but that’s a point for another day.

The FA Cup is probably Chelsea’s only real chance of a trophy this year, as they looked poor against Sparta Prague even though they scraped through with a last minute goal and they’ll want to retain the trophy they picked up last season, which took their total to four in the last six seasons, an impressive feat.

The Blues are 4/9 to get a much-needed win tonight and you can have a flutter on them retaining the FA Cup at 6/1. Not a bad shout when you think about how well they perform when it comes to knock-out competitions.

But, they won’t have it their own way, Boro will be looking to end an awful run of form that has seen them slip out of the Championship playoffs.

They have won just two of the last nine, against Leeds and Aldershot, and they have problems when it comes to selection tonight with Josh McEachran unable to play against his parent club and Kieron Dyer and Sammy Ameobi both cup tied.

Boro will also be without Lukas Jutkiewicz, Jonathan Woodgate, while Stuart Parnaby, Justin Hoyte and Julio Arca remain out.

Mowbray’s men are 6/1 to blow away the cobwebs and get their season back on track tonight. The winner of the tie will take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the next round, a mouth-watering clash if Chelsea go through and a big payday for Boro, so they both have reasons to push for the win tonight.

Any good performances from Chelsea in recent weeks have come on the back of Juan Mata and Frank Lampard turning up with their A game, and they usually pop up with a goal or two.

Mata is 11/2 to open the scoring at the Riverside, while Lampard is on offer at 5/1 with Paddy Power to get Chelsea’s cup run started in earnest.

The host will be relying on local youngster Curtis Main to pose a threat to Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic and he’s been in great form recently, bagging three goals in February, in a poor Boro side.

He’s on offer at 10/1 to open the scoring and the same price to hammer home the final goal of the game.

• Betting: Middlesbrough v Chelsea

TIKA-TAKA: Forget that fancy Barcelona crap, this is proper football. Pic:Getty

By Andrew Robinson | Everton v Oldham, FA Cup

Everton thought they had their FA Cup fifth round tie in the bag when they were 2-1 up at Oldham.

But, the League One side showed they know how to get things done against Merseyside clubs, when Matt Smith popped up with a last-minute equaliser to send the tie to a replay at Goodison Park.

Tonight’s game won’t be any easier for David Moyes’ men, who were troubled by the all-action style of the Latics.

Moyes’ side have been shaky when it comes to holding on to leads, as they showed at the weekend at Carrow Road, when they let an advantage slip to fall to a 2-1 loss against an out-of-form Norwich team.

The Toffees are in danger of throwing away a great start to the season and Moyes will be desperate to get them firing again. They are on offer at 1/6 with Paddy Power to show their class and make it through to round six, where they will take on Wigan Athletic.

Everton have a great recent record in the FA Cup and will fancy their chances of making it to Wembley again if they can dispatch Oldham.

But Oldham are in great form and are unbeaten in four games, making their 14/1 price very appealing.

They also have history as they famously knocked out Everton 1-0 in the third round in 2008, with a stunning strike from Gary McDonald. The Latics are 55/1 to repeat the result this time around.

Everyone loves a bit of FA Cup romance and tonight sees Everton old-boy Jose Baxter returning to the club where he was touted as the next Wayne Rooney, only to find he got no playing time.

He’s on offer at 16/5 to score anytime, 12/1 to bag the first goal and the same price to fire the last of the game and show the Goodison Park club exactly what they are missing. With each of them scoring plenty of goals and leaking at the back, a bet on both teams to score at even money looks very tasty indeed.

• Betting: Everton v Oldham
  

OLE-GEND: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is an Old Trafford hero after securing the 1999 treble

By Josh Powell | Sports writer

The whispers have already started spreading in Luton, Stevenage and Milton Keynes. There are a few around Stretford too. It is 14 years after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s late winner sparked wild celebrations and a cart-wheel from Peter Schmeichel that gets 10 for effort but 4.5 for execution. But Manchester United fans are talking about the treble again.

United sit 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League with 12 games remaining after dropping just three points at home and not losing in the league since November 17th. The Red Devils have practically sewn up the title with a third of the season to go.

Paddy Power is so confident Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will regain their crown he paid out on them to win the Premier League a fortnight ago.

Fergie’s men are also safely through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they have a home tie against either Middlesbrough or Chelsea. In the Champions League Real Madrid have to visit Old Trafford after a 1-1 draw in the Bernabeu gave United the smallest of advantages.

At the start of the season some overly optimistic punters trod the line between genius and crazy by backing United to win the treble at 100/1. That bet looks like a master-stroke as Paddy Power have sliced the odds for Manchester United to win all three over the last nine months and they are now 16/1 to bag the lot.

PRICE DROP: How Manchester United’s odds to win the treble have fallen since June

One Paddy Power punter happily showed off his undying love of United, and the size of his manhood, by whacking on £30 at 100/1 in June. If the Red Devils pull off the treble that bet will cost Paddy more than £3,000.

Unfortunately for the boss that is just a drop in the ocean. As it stands Paddy is set to lose a tidy £1 million if Manchester United get their hands on the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League this season. 

The league title is sown up and the FA Cup certainly looks winnable with teams like Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal already crashing out. They have a home tie coming up against Madrid in the Champions League and AC Milan have shown that trophy is there for the taking after shocking Barcelona 2-0.

Paddy is as nervous as Tulisa in confession, and rightly so the way United are playing.

• Betting: Manchester United multiple trophies 2012/13

ARSENAL CRASH AND B’BURN: Rovers’ striker Kazim-Richards bags a 200/1 winner. Pic:Getty

By Josh Powell | Betting news

#IfWeKnewThen

The FA Cup took over from the Premier League last weekend but that didn’t stop punters cashing in on some huge bets and taking Paddy Power to the cleaners. Paddy is up to his mitre in Rome pricing up who the next Pope will be but it is Arsene Wenger who is praying for a miracle.

His Arsenal side were dumped out of the cup by Championship-side Blackburn Rovers and while the Gunners might spend another season trophy-less, some punters were celebrating a monster scorecast winner.

200/1

Colin Kazim-Richards to score first and Blackburn to beat Arsenal 1-0
Scorecast bet

There will be at least one man wearing an Arsenal shirt on Tuesday night who is still in the FA Cup. Gunners fan and Blackburn striker Colin Kazim-Richards was the man who scuffed a shot into the ground and watched it loop into the back of the net courtesy of the post. His goal probably means an eighth season without any silverware for Arsenal but a couple of lucky punters will be celebrating a 200/1 winner.

There may be 22 places between the two sides and Kazim-Richards had only scored 32 goals in an eight-year career going in to the game, but that didn’t stop some cunning punts. Arsenal had failed to score in just one game in the previous 16 so it was a remarkable call to predict that Colin Kazim-Richards would get the goal in a 1-0 win for Blackburn to nail a 200/1 scorecast.

225/1

HT Huddersfield 0-2 Wigan – FT Huddersfield 1-4 Wigan
Half-time/Full-time correct score bet

Wigan had won just one league game in the last 12 so it took a brave few fans to put their cajones on the line and call a convincing win against Huddersfield. The Latics went to the Galpharm Stadium and thumped the Terriers 4-1 with a couple of Paddy Power punters showing punting balls of steel to nail the half-time, full-time correct score bet.

Arouna Kone’s late goal will have sent these fans bananas as the striker secured a 225/1 winner and guided Wigan to the quarter-finals.

100/1

Chris Dagnall to score first and Barnsley to beat MK Dons 3-1
Scorecast bet

Chris Dagnall had scored four goals in his last six games before Barnsley’s clash with MK Dons and his double on Saturday secured a 100/1 winning scorecast for a handful of punters.

It got off to the perfect start for punters on the scorecast when Dagnall fired in after just 143 seconds to give the Championship strugglers the lead. But it will have got very nervy over the next 88 minutes as the Tykes headed towards stoppage time 2-1 in front. Fortunately for punters Dagnall was on hand again to smash the ball into the roof off the net in the first minute of added time. He sealed the 100/1 winner and helped empty Paddy’s pockets again.