The Football Association Challenge Cup, or the Emirates FA Cup as it’s commonly called, is an annual knockout football tournament, and the oldest national football competition in the world. The tournament hosts teams from any of the 92 teams in the English Premier League, English Football League, and several non-league teams. The tournament provides plenty of FA Cup betting odds and opportunities to get some great value during each stage of the competition.
The qualifying competition is open to level 5 to 10 clubs from August to October, and the competition proper is held from November to May. The final is held on a Saturday after the Premier League finishes each year. The winners of the FA Cup qualify for the following season’s UEFA Europa League at the group stage.
The first six rounds are all part of the qualifying competition, and the level 4 and above teams receive byes to the competition proper. Qualifiers are generally held geographically to reduce the amount of travel needed by the lower-level clubs. The semi-finals and finals have been played exclusively at Wembley Stadium since 2008, on artificial turf pitches.
Past FA Cup Winners
- 2022-23 – Manchester City
- 2021-22 – Liverpool
- 2020-21 – Leicester
- 2019-20 – Arsenal
- 2018-19 – Manchester City
- 2017-18 – Chelsea
- 2016-17 – Arsenal
- 2015-16 – Manchester United
- 2014-15 – Arsenal
- 2013-14 – Arsenal
- 2012-13 – Wigan Atlantic
- 2011 -12 – Chelsea
- 2010 -11 – Manchester City
The FA Cup is an exciting annual event, especially for sports bettors. It provides hundreds of matches to place a wager on, and naturally, sportsbooks go out of their way to provide a variety of betting options for each match.
Throughout this guide, you’ll find a range of betting tips for the FA Cup, provided by our in-house experts.
But first, let’s look at some popular FA Cup betting options, and where we can place our wagers for the 2020-2021 FA Cup.
Popular FA Cup Betting Options
FA Cup Moneyline
This moneyline is by far and away the most popular line betting on the FA Cup. Since the draw is active for the FA Cup, and teams that end in a tie replay their game at a later date. This means we have the three-way moneyline for each FA Cup game.
The three-way moneyline essentially is the same as a two-way moneyline, it just has the option that the game could end in a draw as well. At the end of the 90-minute regular time, if you believe that the game could end in a draw, you should select that option – otherwise, choose a team to win the game.
Here’s an example of a moneyline – we’ll use last year’s FA Cup championship results
- Chelsea -225
- Leicester +165
Arsenal is favored to win this match, and Chelsea is the underdog. Since this game happened in the past and we know that Arsenal won the game, if you placed a $225 wager on Arsenal, you would have won $100 plus your initial stake. If Chelsea had won, and you bet $100 on them, you would have won $165 plus your initial stake.
Spread Betting
Spread betting is popular when betting on any professional sport, and in soccer, they’re called goal line bets, not point spreads because of soccer logs goals instead of points.
A common FA Cup spread you may see is -0.5/+0.5, which means that the sportsbooks are giving the underdog a one-goal head start before the game even begins. This means that the underdog needs to win the game, and the favored team will need to win by one or more goals.
Over/Under or Totals Betting
Totals betting during the FA Cup is just like betting on any other game. You will be betting on whether you think the total number of goals for both teams collectively will be higher or lower than the oddsmaker’s set lines. The main difference between soccer and other professional sports is that totals are shown in multiples of .25 since the scoring in soccer is low scoring.
If a total is set at 2.5, and the final score is 2-1, those who chose the under would lose their wager, and the bettors who chose the over would win.
FA Cup Futures
FA Cup Futures are popular betting options each year and feature a list of all the teams and their FA Cup odds based on how likely they are to win the championship. You can place your FA Cup futures even months in advance and look for huge payouts once the championship ends and a victor is crowned.
It’s always possible to cash out bets as the season goes on, as the likelihood of correctly predicting the winner so far in advance is challenging. If your chosen team has been losing every game in the regular season, you can cash out your bet – you likely won’t get your full stake back but it’s good to save some of your wagers.
Odds to Win the FA Cup 2023/2024
The odds were last updated on April 3, 2024:
| FA Cup Odds 2024 |  |
|---|---|
| Man City | -190 |
| Man Utd | 190 |
| Chelsea | 525 |
| Coventry City | 3000 |
Top Online Sportsbooks for Betting on FA Cup Odds
Now that you have a good idea of how to bet on the FA Cup and the many opportunities it brings, you need to find a safe and trustworthy sportsbook to place your wagers on. If sports betting hasn’t been legalized in your state yet, or if your state has harsh regulations and no mobile wagering available, offshore online sportsbooks are a great alternative.
Online sportsbooks are convenient - you can place a wager from your smartphone from just about anywhere, which is helpful when soccer is usually played on Saturday’s and Sunday’s when everyone is on the go. Online sportsbooks have a huge selection of FA Cup odds that you would never see at your local retail or brick and mortar sportsbooks.
Finding an online sportsbook isn’t difficult, the challenge is finding the one that’s best for you. Ensuring you find one with the deposit options you want or soccer betting bonuses, and the best soccer odds should be your top priority. Luckily we can help with that.
Before signing up for an online sportsbook, ensure you read plenty of online sportsbook reviews and make sure they have everything you need before betting on the FA Cup.
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