FA Cup Predictions And Betting Tips for Saturday 1st March 2025

We’re down to the last sixteen teams in the oldest football tournament in the world, as we enter the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend.

@Footy_Tipster gives his best predictions ahead of this round of fixtures in the FA Cup..

We kick Saturday’s FA Cup action off with two local derbies, Crystal Palace and Millwall will meet in a South-London derby, whilst Preston take on Burnley in a Lancashire derby, with both games taking place at 12.15pm. 

Elsewhere, an all Premier League tie will take place on the South Coast at 3pm, with Bournemouth welcoming Wolves for the second time in seven days. Whilst Plymouth will be looking to produce another giant-killing when they travel to Manchester City on Saturday evening.

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Now, let’s take a closer look at some betting angles for Saturday’s FA Cup fixtures:

Crystal Palace v Millwall – Saturday, 12.15pm

• Crystal Palace have never won the FA Cup, although they’ve reached the final on two occasions, most recently in 2016 before suffering a heartbreaking defeat in extra-time against Manchester United.
• The Eagles would love to grab some silverware in May and their faithful believe Oliver Glasner could be the man to bring them glory, they’ve lost just two in their last thirteen games in all competitions.
• Palace come into this off a brilliant 4-1 victory against Aston Villa on Tuesday night, these two sides have played once in recent years (2022), with Palace taking the bragging rights with a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup.
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• Millwall are also a side that have never won the FA Cup, they’ve finished runners-up just once (2004) over the competitions long history and like Palace, they suffered defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
• The Lions are currently midtable in the EFL Championship but will be hoping to close the six point gap to the play-off places under Alex Neil.
• Millwall have beaten both Dagenham & Redbridge and Leeds to reach to fifth round, they haven’t made it passed the fifth round since their 2018/2019 campaign.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Millwall, Both Teams To Score & Crystal Palace to win.

Preston North End v Burnley – Saturday, 12.15pm

• Preston North End have won this competition twice, in 1889 and then again 1938. However, they’ve not reached the quarter-final for almost sixty years. 
• With the play-offs now looking unlikely for Paul Heckingbottom’s side, you’d expect the Lilywhites to throw everything at this one.
• Preston have been solid at home of late, having not lost in their last twelve games at Deepdale in all competitions. 
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• Burnley have got a battle of their hands in terms of finishing in the automatic promotion places, they sit two points behind second having lost just two league games all season.
• Scott Parker has brought real stability to the Burnley back line, they’ve conceded just nine goals from their thirty-four games in the Championship, remarkable.
• It’s no surprise that i’m not expecting a thriller at Deepdale, both Lancashire derbies between these two sides this season have finished goalless. 

Prediction: Draw, Preston 0-0 Burnley.

Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers – Saturday, 3pm

• Victory here for Bournemouth would secure just their third FA Cup quarter-final in their history. 
• Bournemouth come into this fixture off the back of consecutive defeats in the Premier League, one of which came in this exact fixture just seven days ago, they’ve dropped down to seventh in the league.
• When previewing this game last week, i mentioned that it’s a game that tends to go against the home sides favour, the home side haven’t won this fixture now in the last six meetings following last weekends result.
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• Wolves should be confident of reaching the FA Cup quarter-final stage for the second consecutive year given their record here, they’ve lost just one of their last eight visits to Bournemouth. 
• Their 1-0 victory last week was helped by playing the majority of the game against ten men but it was an important win that helped to extend the gap to the bottom three in the Premier League.
• It’s a tough one to call this and i think we’re in for another close encounter, a draw here wouldn’t surprise me given the history of this fixture.

Prediction: Wolves or Draw, Bournemouth 2-2 Wolves (Bournemouth to win on Penalties).

Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle – Saturday, 5.45pm

• Already out of the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League title race and the EFL Cup, the FA Cup remains the only silverware still on offer for Manchester City this season.
• Pep Guardiola’s side come into this fixture off the back of a 1-0 victory away to Tottenham on Wednesday evening, although Spurs had more than enough chances to score.
• Man City could make a few changes to their starting XI for this one but you feel they should still have more than enough to reach the next stage of the FA Cup. 
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• Plymouth created all the headlines in the previous round of the FA Cup after beating Liverpool at Home Park, the 7,800 fans travelling to Manchester will be dreaming of another upset.
• There’s no doubt that Miron Muslic has improved Plymouth Argyle since his arrival but in the midst of a relegation battle in the EFL Championship, i’m sure their main focus will be survival. 
• These two sides haven’t met since their Division Two encounter back in 1989, how times have changed. 

Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Plymouth, Manchester City To Score Over 3.5 Goals.