FA Cup Quarter-Final Best Bets - April 4

Manchester City's last foray into cup football saw them dispense of Arsenal in the EFL Cup final, with Pep Guardiola's side able to secure the trophy on the back of a 2-0 win. Their exploits will have given them a renewed sense of purpose following their insipid 5-1 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League. 

In the FA Cup, wins over Exeter, Salford and Newcastle has seen City take their place in the quarter-finals, and they will be confident they can beat Liverpool in the FA Cup after doing the league double over their opponents this term. 

Liverpool have struggled on the road this year, losing three of their last four away from home. Defeats to Wolves and Brighton in the league sandwiched a defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League. The Reds can still secure two trophies this season if they can triumph in the Champions League and FA Cup. However, their woes on the road this campaign means they are a tough prospect to back, especially if they are as insipid in their performance as they were against Brighton last time out. 

Both meetings between the sides this season have seen over 2.5 goals scored with City securing the spoils. With this in mind, I am backing City to move into the semi-finals on the back of an entertaining match. 

Southampton have battled to wins over Doncaster, Leicester and Fulham in their previous three FA Cup matches. Each win has been by a single goal, with the Saints impressing particularly in a 1-0 win over Fulham in their last FA Cup outing. 

Arsenal arrive for their fourth FA Cup match of the season aiming to build on wins over Portsmouth, Wigan and Mansfield. Their last two meetings in the 2024/25 Premier League season saw the Gunners secure a pair of wins, although neither came with clean sheets. 

With the Gunners looking to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to City in their last outing in the EFL Cup final, I am backing the London side to secure the win despite conceding for the fifth consecutive game against the Saints.