FA Cup, England’s most prestigious competition after the Premier League restarts: predictions on the first three scheduled matches.
In England the month of January is usually dedicated to national cups, and on the second weekend of 2025 the scene takes the FA Cup, ready to restart with the third round. Matters start to get interesting because from this moment on Premier League and Championship clubs also come into play: the draw, as usual, is integral and it can easily happen that a team from the top league has to contend with one from the fifth division, the lowest level tournament represented in this event.
In the first three matches scheduled for Thursday, Everton and Fulham will also take the field: both will do so in front of their own audiences against, respectively, Peterborough United – a club participating in League One, the English equivalent of our Serie C – and Watford, which instead plays in the cadet league.
As for Everton, the biggest concern at the moment for Sean Dyche’s men is mainly about the Premier League: the Toffees have barely won a game since mid-October and are unable to move away from the relegation zone (they are 16th with one match to spare). The attack has stopped scoring – one goal in the last 5 games – and last Saturday came the second defeat in a row, at home to Bournemouth. The FA Cup can therefore represent an opportunity to regain lost certainties but above all to start scoring again with some continuity: in fact, Peterborough United is the team that in its own league has cashed in the most goals (46) because of its often unscrupulous attitude. Therefore, we assume a prolific match at Goodison Park, from at least three total goals.
The predictions on the other matches
Fulham, on the other hand, is in a fairly quiet position in the standings, and the Europe zone is just a stone’s throw away. The Londoners seem to have what it takes to insert themselves in the race and become a potential outsider: their last defeat was at the end of November, although the draws are starting to be too many, as many as 6 in the last 8 Premier League days, including last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town.
In the cup, Cottagers coach Marco Silva will give space to those who have played less so far, but the victory should come anyway given Watford’s difficult moment, fresh off three consecutive defeats in the Championship and slipped out of the playoff zone. Duel between teams playing in the same category finally that between Sheffield United and Cardiff. The Blades are fighting for direct promotion – they are third, behind Leeds and Burnley – and last weekend they raised their heads after 3 games without victories thanks to their success at home to Watford. On the other hand, the Welshmen, who were beaten 2-0 by Sheffield United last December 21, are only second-last: in the FA Cup, too, the red-and-whites should come out on top, even keeping their goal unbeaten.
FA Cup: possible winners
Sheffield United (in Sheffield United-Cardiff).
Fulham (in Fulham-Watford)
Matches of at least three goals total
Everton-Peterborough United
Fulham-Watford
FA Cup: the match by at least one goal per team
Everton-Peterborough United
Share comparison
Sheffield United’s win is listed at 1.85 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and 1.77 on Snai. The “Over 2.5” sign in Everton-Peterborough United is instead quoted at 1.40 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and 1.42 on Snai.
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