The football season is reaching its business end and fans of all clubs wonder what their possible route to glory could be. For many, the FA Cup represents a chance to dream of a day out at Wembley and potentially some silverware. What's more, the bookmakers on the best football betting sites are also pondering who has the best chance at success.
The FA Cup has once again served up plenty of magic this year, with 5 of the last 16 teams left in the competition coming from the EFL Championship. Some huge clubs have also bowed out early, including Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Their exits have caused plenty of supporters' eyes to widen at the prospect of capitalising on a weaker field and securing an unlikely domestic trophy.
Here are the four current favourites to win this year's FA Cup.
Manchester City (7/4 favourites)
Despite an appalling season by their lofty standards, Pep Guardiola's men remain the favourites to win the world's oldest cup competition. They have somewhat turned a corner recently in the Premier League, and while they surely cannot trouble the title race, they can still salvage something from this campaign.
One of the best ways to do that would be lifting the FA Cup. The Etihad side have won two of the last six editions of the competition, and also made the final last year, losing out to city rivals Manchester United. They also got a bit of luck in the draw for the fifth round, getting Championship basement team Plymouth Argyle at home - a game which on paper they should comfortably win and move into the quarter-finals, and just three games from glory.
Newcastle United (5/1)
Eddie Howe's side pulled off a remarkable 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal earlier this month to secure their place in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. The Magpies will hope to go far in this cup too, if they can get past Brighton at home On March 2nd.
While their form has been a bit disappointing in the Premier League of late, they still have a solid chance of securing European football for next season, but their fans will be hoping for something more. They managed to scrape through 3-2 away at League One leaders Birmingham in the last round, and that result will have given them confidence that they have the grit to go all the way.
Aston Villa (7/1)
With so many big teams crashing out, Unai Emery's side are legitimately one of the most powerful outfits left in the competition. Like Newcastle, they will be disappointed with their league form this campaign so far, but finishing in the top 8 of the UEFA Champions League surely has to make up for that in the eyes of fans.
Emery has always been a very good cup manager, especially in Europe. With the league potentially holding less significance as time goes on, Emery may look to target an FA Cup win as this could guarantee him a place in his favourite competition, the UEFA Europa League, next season, regardless of how they perform in the Premier League. A home draw against mid-table Championship side Cardiff City is just the ticket for the Midlands side, and they should easily reach the last eight.
Manchester United (10/1)
The circus of humiliation at Old Trafford shows no signs of stopping. After Ruben Amorim replaced the beleaguered Erik ten Hag, many fans may have been forgiven for thinking that things would pick up, but remarkably they have gotten quite a lot worse.
With any hope of a decent Premier League season completely out of the window though, The Red Devils become a real danger in the other two competitions in which they remain - the UEFA Europa League and the FA Cup. Amorim will surely put all his eggs in the FA Cup basket, disregarding an unsalvageable Premier League campaign completely. At 10/1, and with a home tie against Fulham in the last 16, they are very interesting dark horses.
