Jack Wright's Weekend 11/1 Fivefold

The FA Cup has thrown up a huge Tyne & Wear derby in the 3rd Round. This is a massive match in its own right but arguably even more so for Toon boss Eddie Howe having seen his side lose their last four games.

Despite injury and fatigue ravaging his squad anything other than a win at the Stadium of Light doesn’t bear thinking about and as a result I am taking Newcastle to dig deep and book their place in the next round.

Bradford hit a bump in the road on Saturday following a strong run of recent form. The narrow 1-0 reverse at Crewe was a first defeat in nine matches. Alex scored from the penalty spot (their only shot on target) and held on for the three points despite strong pressure from the Bantams who lacked a finishing touch.

That problem could be solved by Jake Young who has been recalled from his loan with Swindon Town where he has plundered 16 league goals. That extra firepower could be decisive against a Crawley side that have lost five of their last seven road trips.

Mansfield claimed a huge win last weekend travelling to league leaders Stockport and defeating them 2-0. The Stags remain second in the fourth tier but close the gap to just two points.

This looks to be the season Nigel Clough’s side finally secure promotion after losing the play-off final in 2021-22 and missing out on the end of season finale by one-point last term. They have only lost one league game all campaign built on a rock-solid defence which has only shipped 19 goals in 24 fixtures.

As already mentioned, Crewe got the better of Bradford last time out but needed a penalty which turned out to be their only shot on target. That ended a run of seven games without a win, but it would be a shock to see them record successive victories against this well drilled and ruthless Mansfield outfit.

We looked set to land the 12/1 Five-fold last weekend only to lose at the final hurdle following Arsenal’s defeat at Fulham despite Bukayo Saka giving them a 5th minute lead. Mikel Arteta labelled that performance the worst of the season and said his side need a “reset”.

This represents a fantastic opportunity to do that as they host league leaders Liverpool in the FA Cup. We could see wholesale changes from the visitors who will already be without AFCON bound Mo Salah. It could be beneficial for Jurgen Klopp’s side to exit the competition to focus on their title challenge whilst leaving one of their closest rivals with upcoming extra fixtures.

There is also nearly two weeks until Arsenal’s next league engagement so no necessity for Arteta to field a weakened starting 11.

Juventus didn’t let us down last week as they kept their title ambitions alive with a solid 1-0 victory against Roma. That extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches and closed the gap on leaders Inter to just two points.

The Old Lady have won four of their last five road trips and are taken to add another here against rock-bottom Salernitana. The hosts have the leakiest defence and what’s more may struggle to find a way to score against a Juve side that have only conceded 11 times in 18 Serie A fixtures.

That is the second lowest total in the league with only Empoli hitting the back of the net fewer times than I Granata. The meeting between these two sides last season ended in a 3-0 away win and I can see a similar outcome here.