The FA Cup takes centre stage this weekend, with plenty of high profile fourth round matches.
We caught up exclusively with Bet9ja Ambassador Victor Ikpeba to preview all the key action. The Super Eagles legend, famous for being part of the 1994 AFCON and 1996 Olympic successes, gives his thoughts on tonight’s Manchester City vs Arsenal tie, Brighton vs Liverpool and who he thinks will cause the biggest shock.
Manchester City vs Arsenal: Two best teams in England face off
VI: On paper City should be favourites but Arsenal have been on great form with just one defeat in 19 Premier League matches. The Gunners have been strong offensively since Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko joined this team and you can’t forget that Mikel Arteta was the assistant coach to Pep Guardiola and learnt a lot, which has helped him coach this young Arsenal side.
Arteta has been able to get the best from these players, especially the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, and in the absence of Jesus, I think Eddie Nketiah has been doing an excellent job with seven goals in his last seven matches.
It’s very difficult to defend against these four, especially with Grant Xhaka and Thomas Partey behind them. So on current form, I would edge in favour of Arsenal but of course anything can happen in an FA Cup tie.
For Man City, what is most significant for them is the Premier League, where they are playing catch up to this strong Arsenal side. Offensively City have been strong, especially with Julian Alvarez coming into the side, and of course Erling Haaland with more than 30 goals already.
Defensively in recent weeks, I think City have been very poor. The goalkeeper Ederson has been making errors and the defenders ahead of him have been making a lot of errors as well. Right now how can the City defence cope against this rampant, youthful Arsenal side.
City will have to deprive Arsenal of having the ball and be in control of the match. If they aren’t it will be difficult against this Arsenal side.
But the FA Cup is a different ball game to what happens in the Premier League games. However, for City I think the most important thing for them this season is to win the Champions League. I would not say the FA Cup is that significant to them but there will be a lot of pride at stake. Guardiola would not want to see one of his former assistant coaches get the better of him.
Ikpeba’s tip: Arsenal win
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): 4.40
Brighton vs Liverpool: Will Brighton win again?
VI: Another key game to look at during the fourth round will be Brighton vs Liverpool. Brighton just punished Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League a couple of weeks ago, thanks to two goals from Solly March and one from Danny Welbeck. They are also in very good form with just one defeat in five matches.
That match should be another cracker too. Liverpool will be looking to get back to winning ways on Sunday, especially considering they have won just one in five. Taking into account injuries, with Virgil van Dijk, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Athur Melo all out, I expect Brighton to do the job against this very weak current Liverpool side.
Ikpeba’s tip: Brighton win
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): 2.64
Cup shock to look out for
VI: The beauty and the magic of the FA Cup is that you always see a lot of surprises. Preston, who are 11th in the EFL Championship, against Tottenham might be the game to look at for a potential shock. Spurs have not been in great form recently, losing three of their last six and we see a lot of giant killing in the FA Cup so anything is possible in this match.
Ikepeba’s tip: Preston win
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): 8.10
Arsenal win, Brighton win, Preston win combined odds: 94.09. Booking code: 3FQYYRL
READ: Bet9ja’s Manchester City vs Arsenal preview
