Football betting: weekend preview

As Bettingchoice discovered to its cost this week, backing teams in cup competitions is not quite the same as doing so in the league, but a smarting Arsenal outfit will not repeat the mistakes of midweek when Newcastle visit in the FA Cup on Saturday. Click here for a free Paddy Power Poker $600 welcome bonus whn you join Paddy Power Poker True to his Carling Cup strategy Arsene Wenger started with eight non-first team players against Spurs on Tuesday, including Nicklas Bendtner, who it seems is neither the most popular player at the club, nor the most intelligent after electing to pick a fight with the biggest player in the side, Emmanuel Adebayor, during the game and getting a bloodied nose for his troubles. Still, after the 5-1 humiliation, Bendtner is not the only Arsenal player licking his wounds and the Gunners will want to return to winning ways as soon as possible against Newcastle. The two sides meet again in the league on Tuesday, so Wenger could well stick to his guns and field another below strength side, but even if he does, they will still be too good for the Geordies. A riled Arsenal will be too strong for a Toon side who struggled to create in the 0-0 draw against Bolton recently. Portsmouth can be expected to stroll into the next round at the expense of struggling Plymouth. Harry Redknapp's men clearly missed Kanu, Sulley Muntari and John Utaka in the 2-0 defeat at Sunderland two weeks ago but ended their goal drought at Fratton Park with a 3-1 win against Derby last weekend. The struggling Championship side have spent most of this season selling most of their best players and would be better served getting out of the competition asap to focus on staying up. The FA Cup is no respecter of league places and Millwall will point to four seasons ago when they made it all the way to the final as proof. However, the Lions, who are hovering four points above League One's drop zone, will do well to get past Coventry who are fashioning for themselves a reputation of being cup specialists this year. After knocking Manchester United out of the Carling Cup the Sky Blues sent Blackburn reeling out of the FA Cup with a 4-1 win and, though they have lost their last two matches, you get the feeling this is a side, who have also hit four past West Brom and Blackpool in recent weeks, will help themselves against lowly Millwall. Verdict: 3pts treble on Arsenal, Portsmouth and Coventry @ 2.92/1 (Paddy Power) Click here for a free Paddy Power Poker $600 welcome bonus whn you join Paddy Power Poker