The football league giants enter the FA cup on Saturday and football betting fans will be perusing the fixtures trying to spot the possible upsets. There are four Premier League ties but these are no different to the usual Saturday fare. It’s the ‘David and Goliath’ fixtures and anticipation of ignominious downfall that provides the real interest.

Havant and Waterlooville, for instance, knocked Notts County out in the last round and are up against Swansea on Saturday. Other Welsh nerves will be jittery in Cardiff too when Port Vale slayers, Chasetown, visit an already underachieving team.

There’s always controversy in the broadcast media about what to televise. The temptation is to go with the premier head-to-heads but fans know that the excitement lies elsewhere and thankfully, from the big games, only the Aston Villa v. Man Utd encounter will be on the BBC.

Arsenal take on Burnley in another of the matches to be shown by the BBC, while Luton will be seeking glory at Anfield and their efforts can be observed on Sky television.

Sports betting enthusiasts will be aware that Big Sam’s days at Newcastle, already numbered after a mediocre season thus far, may come to an abrupt end if rampant promotion contenders Stoke City do the unthinkable and trash the Toons. Hereford managed it in 1972. This match is also televised by the BBC. Ooh… I can’t wait!