FA Cup Betting Tips

• How To Bet On The FA Cup
• FA Cup Previous Winners
• FA Cup Betting Markets
• Do The Favourites Always Win?
• FA Cup Betting Tips Summary

The FA Cup is the most famous and oldest domestic club competition. First awarded in 1872, the famous trophy is among the most recognisable in the world ,and winning it is considered every British schoolboy’s dream.

The iconic tournament is very popular with bettors, and you’ll often come across FA Cup betting tips online. If you wish to get in on the action, then here’s a guide containing everything you need to know.

How To Bet On The FA Cup

Finding good FA Cup betting tips can be straightforward. All you need to do is bet intelligently, do your research, and examine the trends behind the competition.

Research is the most important thing you have to do before you make your FA Cup predictions, so be sure to educate yourself as much as possible before you begin to bet.

FA Cup Previous Winners

Though the FA Cup is full of surprises and ‘cupsets’, the unfortunate reality is that the final will most likely be contested between Premier League teams.

The deeper squads and overall quality boasted by top-flight sides means they can throw out another starting XI for FA Cup games and save their best players for the latter stages of the competition.

In fact, if we look at the FA Cup finals between the 2014-15 and the 2021-22 seasons, we see a complete dominance of Premier League sides.

• 2014-15 final - Arsenal vs Hull City
• 2015-16 final - Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
• 2016-17 final - Chelsea vs Arsenal
• 2017-18 final - Chelsea vs Manchester United
• 2018-19 final - Manchester City vs Watford
• 2019-20 final - Chelsea vs Arsenal
• 2020-21 final - Chelsea vs Leicester City
• 2021-22 final - Chelsea vs Liverpool

All of these teams played Premier League football at the time of their respective finals, whilst the 2016-17 and 2018-19 finals were won by the Premier League winners of that year.

It may be tempting to bet on the underdogs, but keep in mind that, aside from Wigan Athletic, the FA Cup winners are often quite predictable.

FA Cup Betting Markets

You aren’t limited to picking an outright winner, however, as the status and fame of the FA Cup has led to an array of betting markets being available.

From top scorer to individual match bets, here’s what you can bet on during the FA Cup:

FA Cup Top Scorer Betting

The top scorer market in the FA Cup is highly interesting as it’s often won by players in lower divisions.

Lower-ranked teams play more games as they enter the competition early, meaning that the players can rack up goals in the qualifying rounds, whilst the Premier League teams enter later.

If we take a look at the FA Cup top scorers from 2017-18 to 2021-22, we see a surprising absence of top-flight players.

• 2017-18 top scorer - Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic)
• 2018-19 top scorer - Padraig Amond (Newport County) and Gabriel Jesus (Man City)
• 2019-20 top scorer - James Ball (Solihull Moors) and Harry McKirdy (Carlisle United)
• 2020-21 top scorer - Several players scored 4 goals, two of whom came from Premier League clubs
• 2021-22 top scorer - Riyad Mahrez (Man City) and Jayden Stockley (Charlton Athletic)

The top scorer market is unpredictable meaning finding reliable FA Cup betting tips can be tricky. If there’s a Championship, League One, or League Two player in fine form, the stats tell us that it may be a good idea to back them as the FA Cup top scorer.

Premier League top scorers are often rested for FA Cup games (other than the semi-final or final) as managers consider European games the priority.

Look At Your Chosen Team’s FA Cup History

There are certain teams that love a good cup run, whilst there are others who tend to crash out at their first hurdle, much to the chagrin of fans.

If you’re betting on an individual match, it’s worth researching your chosen team’s FA Cup reputation and recent record in the competition. Teams like Liverpool and Arsenal have strong records in the division, whilst teams like Newcastle United never seem to get far at all.

Check Team News

If you wish to bet on a game that pits a Championship or League One side against a Premier League one, it’s vital you check both clubs’ team news in advance.

It’s not uncommon for a top-flight side to field a second-string in the FA Cup, especially in the early stages, making the previously one-sided matchup a bit more even.

Injuries can also drastically affect a team’s fortunes in the competition, particularly with EFL sides, as their squads aren’t as deep.

Aim to be as well-versed in team news, injury updates, and transfer news before you start betting on individual games of the FA Cup.

Do The Favourites Always Win?

As you can probably imagine, the favourites to win the FA Cup are always teams hailing from the Premier League.

However, the perceived lesser importance of the competition in comparison to Premier League glory and Champions League qualification has resulted in elite top-flight sides not taking the FA Cup as seriously as they used to. Therefore, it’s quite often that the on-paper favourites fail to win the trophy.

Choosing who you think will be the outright FA Cup winners isn’t as simple as looking at the best teams, as quite often, they have bigger things to worry about.

FA Cup Betting Tips Summary

Finding good FA Cup betting tips takes some research, knowledge, and a pinch of good luck. There are several ‘giant killings’ in the early rounds of the tournament, however, the final is almost-always played by Premier League clubs.

However, that isn’t to say that the strongest Premier League teams are guaranteed to win the trophy, as the league winners have only added the FA Cup to their trophy haul twice in the last eight seasons.

The FA Cup may not be as coveted as it once was, but its iconic status and plethora of iconic finals has forever cemented its legacy within the game of football.