Andy Schooler previews this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals, including Manchester City v Liverpool. Read his best bets ahead of a busy weekend of cup football.
FA Cup Quarter-Finals Best Bets 2026
With the EFL Cup already pocketed, City could yet end up winning the domestic Treble again. We’ll have to see whether Arsenal blink in the Premier League title race but first up it’s this FA Cup tie which you’d imagine means more to City – Liverpool have PSG to come on Wednesday in the Champions League, a competition their hosts exited last month.
FA Cup Quarter-Finals: Man City v Liverpool
With City (1.68) having already completed the league double over a Jekyll-and-Hyde Liverpool, this one looks fairly priced. The bet I often play in this fixture is Bernardo Silva to be carded. That’s now landed in nine of his 14 competitive starts against Liverpool, including four of the last five.
This is clearly a fixture which has meant a lot to Silva, not to mention both clubs, over the past decade and there is plenty at stake again here. This could be the midfielder’s last meeting with Liverpool – he’s out of contract in the summer – and so he could go out with a bang. Sadly, only 3.15 is available in the ‘to be carded’ market and I can’t bring myself to play at that price.
FA Cup Quarter-Finals: Chelsea v Port Vale
Chelsea have lost all four games they’ve played since beating Wrexham in the last round of this competition, conceding 12 goals across those matches. They’ve now kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 games and I do wonder if it’s worth backing Port Vale to find the net here at odds-against.
They may be bottom of League 1 – and almost certain to go down – but they did defeat Sunderland in the last round of the FA Cup. Now they will face what will likely be a jittery Chelsea where boss Liam Rosenior is feeling the heat just a few months into the job. However, I’m not convinced enough to get involved. Clearly, Chelsea have the potential to dominate this.
I was looking to back Enzo Fernandez for a card at a chunky price but since starting to write this, he’s been kicked out of the squad for breaching club discipline – always finding new ways to mess up a bet! Firebrand striker Liam Delap is another possibility in this market at 5.8 that you might want to consider, although his card output is well done on that of Fernandez.
FA Cup Quarter-Finals: Southampton v Arsenal
It’s fair to say Arsenal should win this (they are 1.22 to do so) but it will also be interesting to see how they react after their Quadruple hopes went up in smoke before the international break. There were a lot of memes going around this week about how Arsenal players who withdrew from internationals are set to miraculously recover but I’m unconvinced the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel will be playing here.
This competition is now the lowest priority for Mikel Arteta, who will pick his team with Tuesday’s trip to Sporting Lisbon very much in mind. A weaker Arsenal enhances Southampton’s chances and they should certainly not be written off. The 8.5 Saints sit sixth in the Championship, are unbeaten in 14 and have conceded just four goals in their last seven games at St Mary’s. They are 1.72 to score which looks tempting.
Arsenal have already conceded away to Portsmouth and Mansfield when changing their side around in the FA Cup, while they’ve now kept just three clean sheets in their last 12 away games – not great for a team which has been lauded for its defensive capabilities this season. However, I’m prepared to bump that up by backing Arsenal to score too – both teams to score pays 1.85.
FA Cup Quarter-Finals: West Ham v Leeds
This is a Premier League final-day fixture which has the potential to be huge next month. With both sides involved in the relegation scrap – Leeds are currently four points better off – you wonder how focused they are at this task at hand. It’s fair to say both would accept defeat here for three points next weekend. The pair have been in decent form with West Ham now unbeaten in six at home and Leeds having gone six without defeat on the road.
However, that sentence hides the fact that the vast majority of those games have been drawn – five for West Ham and four for Leeds – and that result looks the value play here. Only Bournemouth have drawn more Premier League games than Leeds this season, while all three of the Hammers’ FA Cup ties have finished all square after 90 minutes. With little between the sides in the league table, too, 3.4 looks a fair price about another stalemate.
FA Cup Quarter-Finals 2025/26: Best Bets
BTTS in Southampton v Arsenal @ 1.85 with kwiff
Draw in West Ham v Leeds @ 3.4 with kwiff
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