Football Bet of the Day: Sunderland could be shocked in the cup

The FA Cup takes centre stage on Saturday as the famous third round comes to our screens, and we’ve scoured the football across the country to try and find some value for our Football Bet of the Day. I’ve stumbled upon a relatively innocuous looking FA Cup tie between two Championship teams, that I feel offers excellent value. 

Read on for my Football Bet of the Day for Saturday, January 10. 

Sunderland are as short as 3/5 to beat Stoke in 90 minutes, but I think they’ve been priced far too short given the circumstances. The Black Cats have caught the attention of the nation this season with the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham two of the finest young stars in the Football League. 

They’ve propelled Regis Le Bris’ side to automatic promotion contention, and now Sunderland sit in fourth position in the Championship, just three points behind league leaders Leeds United. There’s no doubt that they are in the running to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017, and they are making big moves in the January transfer window, with Roma’s Enzo Le Fee set to join on loan with a view to a permanent deal that could be worth north of £20m should Sunderland secure promotion. 

Given they have won nine and drawn four of their Championship matches at the Stadium of Light this season, and are taking on a Stoke outfit with just two away wins to their name, I can see why for a regular league match they would be cler favourites. In a regular Championship fixture, I’d be far more keen to jump on board with Sunderland. But this is a cup match, and therefore it provides excellent value. 

Sunderland vs Stoke City Odds

Sunderland, quite frankly, couldn’t give two hoots about the FA Cup this season. A competition of such grandeur is a fantastic tournament to go deep into, but only if you have relatively little to play for in your regular league season, or if you have the squad depth of the big boys to cope with mulitple competitions. Sunderland have so much to play for in the Championship, and I cannot see Le Bris risking the likes of Jobe, Rigg, Wilson Isidor, Dan Neil and Luke O’Nien for this one. 

I’m expecting the home side to rotate heavily, and I also believe there could be a strange atmosphere inside the Stadium of Light, with the attendance likely to be far lower than for a usual Championship fixture. Only 6,000 fans turned up to watch Sheffield United vs Cardiff City on Thursday night, and that game can serve as a prime example to how this tie could play out. 

Sheffield United are also chasing promotion to the Premier League and Chris Wilder rested all of his stars for that cup tie. The result saw Cardiff come away with a 1-0 win and progress to the fourth round, but you have a feeling that the home faithful (most of whom didn’t turn up), will be happy to be out of the cup at the first time of asking. 

So if Cardiff can beat Sheffield United on the road, Stoke can certainly win this tie against Sunderland. Unlike their hosts, they have something to play for. Mark Robins is the new manager in charge of this underperforming group and he will be picking a strong squad to go and win this game. Let’s not forget, he took Coventry City to within a dodgy VAR decision and a penalty shootout of the FA Cup final last term, beating Wolves away from home in the quarter-final and coming from 3-0 down against Manchester United in the semi. 

Football Odds

Stoke’s players will want to impress a manager who doesn’t stand for nonsense and could make moves in this January transfer window to shape the squad into his image. If he doesn’t like certain players or their attitude, they could be out the door, so I’m expecting a good showing from the Potters. 

If Sunderland had their best players on the pitch, I don’t think Stoke would be able to compete. However, the Potters only lost 2-1 here in the league, and actually secured a 1-0 win at home over the Black Cats, so they will fancy their chances once again. I think motivation from both managers is a massive factor heading into this game. Le Bris won’t be bothered if he loses here, whereas Robins will want to see a good performance in his first away game in charge of his new club. 

I think there is excellent value available on Stoke to win this tie, whether than be in 90 minutes, after extra-time, or even penalties. We will take whatever we can get as long as the away side come out on top.

Offers

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any FA Cup game on Saturday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Sunday’s FA Cup games.

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.