Potential Upsets to Look Out For This Weekend & Their Odds

Mick McCarthy takes his Cardiff City team to the Liberty Stadium to face high-flying Swansea in the second South Wales derby of the season. The Swans have been in outstanding form this season as they look to return to the Premier League at the third attempt of asking. The arrival of Conor Hourihane has given Steve Coopers a big boost, with the Irishman scoring five goals and assisting one in 11 games.

The Bluebirds go into the game off the back of their first defeat under McCarthy (a run that spammed 11 games), last time out against promotion-chasing Watford. Despite being stung by the Hornets through a stoppage-time winner from Adam Masina, Cardiff will travel to their bitter rivals confident of causing an upset. It will be interesting to see how McCarthy’s team bounces back after their first defeat, with Cardiff continuing to make up ground on the Championship top six.

We are backing the Bluebirds to cause an upset at 19/10.

Steven Gerrard has had a near-perfect season this term as Rangers boss, wrapping up the title with six games to go and an invincible league campaign insight - the first time Rangers have had this chance in over 100 years. This Sunday, the Gers travel to Celtic Park to face off against bitter rivals Celtic in what could be the last big hurdle in their steps to becoming an unbeaten team in the SPFL, matching their rivals 2016/17 season under Brenden Rodgers.

Despite Celtic being well off the pace this season, there are big incentives for current caretaker boss John Kennedy to inspire this crop of Celtic players. Having been denied the opportunity to make it an unprecedented 10 in a row, Celtic will want to stop their rivals from matching their unbeaten season completed a few years back and ruin their big day.

Even though Rangers going into the match as favourites, they have a massive Europa League tie on Thursday at Ibrox against Slavia Prague, a game that could go to extra time with it being evenly poised after a 1-1 draw in Prague.

This can only benefit Celtic, who will go into the game fresh after having two weeks off since drawing to Dundee United. At 9/5, Celtic are good value to shock their rivals.

Bournemouth and Southampton face off in an intriguing South Coast derby tie this Saturday in the FA Cup quarter-final for a place at Wembley. Ralph Hasenhüttl Saints have been in horrific form since the turn of the new year. They have only beaten Premier League whipping boys Sheffield United in their last 13 games, with their lowest point of 2021 coming against Manchester United in a 9-0 loss at Old Trafford.

Given Southampton’s poor form and clear lack of confidence, Jonathon Woodgate’s Cherries may fancy their chances of an upset this Saturday. Bournemouth have struggled for consistency in the Championship this season which sees them sit a disappointing seventh, five points off the play-off places.

Despite this, the Cherries do boast some quality players with experience in their ranks. The likes of Jefferson Lerma, Jack Wilshere, Steve Cook have each impressed at Premier League level, and considering Southampton's miserable form, Bournemouth are at solid odds of 29/10.

Everton face Manchester City at Goodison Park on Saturday, looking to book a place at Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final. After a disappointing result last time out against Burnley in the Premier League, the Toffees will be looking to bounce back against the champions-elect and take one step closer to ending their 26-year wait for a major trophy.

It will be a tough ask for Carlo Ancelotti’s men against City, who have only lost once in their last 32 games in all competitions and are fighting on all four fronts this season. But Pep Guardiola's team have fell victim to an FA Cup shock before when they lost to League 1 Wigan 1-0 at the DW Stadium back in 2018.

Everton also have the perfect manager in place to end their trophy hoodoo, with Ancelotti boasting an incredible 19 pieces of silverware on his CV, the Italian will be desperate to make it 20 on Merseyside. After watching Ancelotti perform a tactical masterclass at Anfield just a couple of weeks ago, the veteran manager could mastermind another big win.

At the price of 13/2, the Toffees may be worth backing.

Jose Mourinho takes his team to Villa Park in the late game on Sunday to face an out-of-form Aston Villa team struggling in the absence of their outstanding captain Jack Grealish who has missed the last 5 games through injury. However, the 25-year-old could be poised to return to the team this time around and Villa may also may reintroduce Matty Cash to the starting XI, who has been pivotal at right-back for a defence that has kept 14 clean sheets in 27 games this season.

Tottenham go into the game off the back of their most disappointing result of the season last time out in the North London derby against Arsenal. Despite Eric Lamela's incredible rabona goal, Spurs were poor throughout and will be looking to bounce back on Sunday.

Given the possible return of two big players for Villa, they could be a good value for the win at 21/10.

Two teams in desperate need of points face off in a six-pointer at the Amex Stadium on Saturday night. Brighton’s xG has been much talked about this season, but Graham Potter's team have failed to capitalise on the chances they have created and currently sit warily of Fulham, who are just three points behind them in 18th. The Seagulls come into this clash off the back of a massive three points against Southampton at the weekend.

In the opposition dugout, Steve Bruce is under incredible pressure to steer the Magpies away from trouble without star players Callum Wilson and Alan Saint-Maximin. Bruce might just be lucky that the stadiums are empty, as he would have likely felt the full wrath of the Geordie faithful by now.

Despite the Magpies being injury-hit at 5/1, they could be worth a gamble, especially considering there is only a place in the Premier League that separates the two teams.

By Harry Charlwood