Everton v Wigan Athletic – FA Cup Preview and Betting Tip

Betting Tips | Article posted on March 7th, 2025

Wigan Athletic made the worst possible preparation for this fixture with Everton when they were thrashed in their previous Premier League outing by Everton’s Merseyside neighbours and rivals Liverpool by four goals to nil. In usual circumstances, the FA Cup might have been looked upon as something of a distraction for the Latics from their Premier League programme, particularly with the perennial relegation candidates having slid back into the drop zone on the back of that defeat, but manager Roberto Martinez may be glad of something of a distraction from the fight against relegation after the ignominy of being battered in front of their home supporters.

If the role of underdog might suit Wigan, then Everton will be more than happy to simply have a winnable home tie in the quarter-finals of this competition, as manager David Moyes aims to win his first trophy as Everton boss. The highly successful manager of the Toffees has been continually linked with moves away from Goodison Park this season, as it becomes understandably evident that a manager of his calibre would like to be operating in the highest echelons of the game. While his stewardship of Everton has been an undoubted success, over a decade without a trophy is not likely to satisfy someone of Moyes’ ambition, and the fact is that winning any of the major trophies for a club like Everton is getting harder each season. In fact, realistically the FA Cup is there only hope of such a success, with the Premier League well out of reach, and even qualifying for Europe far from guaranteed.

With two Championship teams facing each other in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, there is the promise of a smooth passage to the final for one of the three teams that proceed from the all-Premier League ties. With Manchester City highly likely to progress, and one of either Chelsea or Manchester United making up the semi-finalists, whomever wins this tie will obviously hope for a favourable draw in the semi-finals. It looks increasingly as if the two Manchester clubs will clash at some point during this season’s competition, in a repetition of their FA Cup semi-final of two seasons ago, so whichever team wins here would certainly accept a tie against Millwall or Blackburn while the two north west giants faced off in the other.

Everton (possible 4-3-2-1): Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Osman, Gibson, Pienaar; Fellaini, Mirallas; Jelavic

Help Keep These Tips & Guides Free - Click A Link Below Help Keep These Tips & Guides Free - Click A Link Above

Wigan Athletic (possible 3-4-3): Al Habsi; Scharner, Caldwell, Figueroa; Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour; Maloney, Kone, Santo

Betting Prediction: It’s hard to look beyond Everton when considering this fixture. The home side have been very difficult to beat at Goodison this season, and simply look a much stronger side than Wigan on paper. The Latics have reserved some of their best form for the FA Cup, but can look a little bit lightweight and open away from home, and an experienced Everton side will surely exploit any such vulnerabilities. So my money is on Everton to win this tie by three goals to one.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)