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FA Cup Treble: Home wins for Leeds, Leicester & Nottingham Forest
While many will be hoping to see some cup upsets when the FA Cup third round kicks off, Al Hain-Cole is banking on his three picks to stay true to form for a treble worth 79/25
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FA Cup Treble
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| Leeds United |
VS
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Birmingham City |
| Kick-off: 15:00 GMT |
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| Tip: Leeds to win at 53/50 (2.06) with Marathon Bet |
Some stadiums seem tailor-made for a good old-fashioned FA Cup clash, and there are few better than Leeds United's Elland Road.
The Whites welcome Birmingham City to their cauldron of a home ground on Saturday, where they will be looking to reproduce the form that saw them reach the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup. Neil Warnock's men have won their last five consecutive league matches on home turf, so will be confident of beating their Championship rivals, who have won just three of their 13 away games in the second tier.
To make matters worse for the visitors, they will have to make do without a whole host of key players, including top-scorer Marlon King, captain Stephen Carr, midfielders Keith Fahey, Darren Ambrose and Hayden Mullins, as well as Nikola Zigic, who scored four goals in a 4-1 win over Leeds last season.
All in all, a home win looks like the inevitable outcome, so odds of 53/50 (2.06) Marathon Bet are certainly not to be missed.
| Leicester City |
VS
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Burton Albion |
| Kick off: 15:00 GMT |
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| Tip: Leicester to win at 7/25 (1.29) with Marathon Bet |
Revenge is the order of the day when Leicester play host to Burton Albion this weekend, as the hosts look to overcome a lower league side that embarrassingly knocked them out of the Capital One Cup in their own back yard at the beginning of the season.
The Foxes were going through something of a lull back then, but are sure be full of confidence this time out after recording 6-0, 4-1 and 6-1 victories in three of their last five home games.Meanwhile, Albion have lost five and drawn one of their last six matches on the road in League Two, so will find it difficult facing a Championship club who have only lost to high-flying Crystal Palace and Cardiff at the King Power Stadium since August's shock Capital One Cup exit.
Nigel Pearson's men are undoubtedly a more fearsome proposition than the side that faced the Brewers earlier on in the season, and the addition of Chris Wood, who scored twice on his debut on Tuesday, to play alongside Dave Nugent will surely give them an attack that is too hot to handle.
Expect Leicester to gain a cathartic victory in this one, at odds of 7/25 (1.29).
| Nottingham Forest |
VS
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Oldham Athletic |
| Kick-off: 15:00 GMT |
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| Forest to win at 57/100 (1.57) with Marathon Bet |
New Nottingham Forest boss Alex McLeish will be looking for his first win at the third time of asking when Oldham visit the City Ground, and looks more than likely to get his wish.
The visitors are in disarray at the moment, having placed three members of the backroom staff on 'gardening leave' after losing four and drawing one of their last five matches in League One.Manager Paul Dickov must also contend with the absence of key men Cristian Montano and the suspended James Wesolowski, so will not fancy his chances when he takes his side to a ground where the hosts have lost just once in six matches.
Billy Sharp has hit the back of the net eight times in his last 15 games , and with Dexter Blackstock and Simon Cox ably supporting the on-loan Southampton man up front, Forest should simply have too much for the relegation-threatened guests to handle.
The Latics' miserable looks set to continue here, and odds of 57/100 (1.57) certainly seem generous for McLeish to get off the mark with a win.
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| Backing all three selections pays out 79/25 (4.16) with Marathon Bet |
Sign up with Marathon Bet for a 10% price boost on winning accumulators and back Al's selections
Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.
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