Friday 13th February 2026

In Across the Leagues today:

• Wrexham v Ipswich, 7.45pm…
• FA Cup 4th Round…
• Valentine’s Day treble…

FA Cup & EFL Picks – including a 40/1 shot for tonight…

Virgil van Dijk did the business for us this week…

The big centre-back, who is now Liverpool’s all-time Premier League top scoring defender with 23 goals, got the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at Sunderland on Wednesday night. Landing not only our 11/1 pick for Anytime Scorer. But also the full house of First and Last Goalscorer, too. Did you take the plunge at 28/1? Across the Leagues member John did, and he sent me a screenshot to prove it:

FA Cup entertainment this weekend…

Backing centre-backs to score is one of our regular big-odds angles. Another is the Half Time/ Full Time market, where we look for matches with the potential for scoreboard turnarounds…

This weekend’s FA Cup 4th Round ties may provide some fertile ground for this approach…

First things first. We’re on Fulham and Brentford for the cup this season, at 40/1 each, Each Way. Those two London clubs went in the book for us last month, ahead of the 3rd Round. Catch up on the original analysis and advice here.

Brentford are flying high in the league right now, and are down to 20/1 or 18/1 for the cup.

Fulham are now 28/1 with William Hill and 25/1 in general.

Each Way terms: half the odds for reaching the final.

• Brentford play at Macclesfield on Monday night. Fulham are at Stoke on Sunday afternoon

I’ve got two match-ups that catch the eye for HT/ FT comebacks in the 4th Round this weekend…

Wrexham v Ipswich could be fun tonight (7.45pm, BBC One Wales). The home side have made a habit of being entertainers since their Hollywood takeover. Wrexham have suffered two HT/ FT turnarounds going against them in the league this season - and a division-high four going in their favour. This all-Championship encounter could be a close-run thing.

Aston Villa v Newcastle (Sat 5.45pm, TNT Sports) has the potential for a scoreboard swing, too. Indeed, we’ve flagged-up these sides a few times in the Premier League this season for this bet, including the last time they met. We’ll take the nice prices in both instances - see below.

Valentine’s Day treble…

We’re tackling the English Football League card on Saturday afternoon (3pm games), with this treble in the big-odds Win & Both Teams to Score market:

QPR v Blackburn

• QPR are 2nd in the Championship for home Win & BTTS payouts this season (6)...

Barnsley v AFC Wimbledon

• Barnsley have the highest Win & BTTS strike-rate in League One (46% home)...

Crewe v Gillingham

• Only 2 teams have got more Win & BTTS victories in League Two than Crewe this season (Salford and Bromley - Salford are in FA Cup action at Man City this weekend, while Bromley take on Notts County in a title-clash). Four of Crewe’s last 5 home wins have seen goals at both ends

With the odds on this treble touching 100/1 (see below for bookies), my advice this time is to split a stake four ways across a Trixie - consisting of three doubles and the treble.

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TODAY’S PICKS & BEST ODDS

See above for full details

FA Cup 4th Round - TONIGHT:

Wrexham v Ipswich

• Half Time/ Full Time: Ipswich/ Wrexham @ 40/1 BetVictor, 35/1 William Hill (‘Double Result’ market), 33/1 and 28/1 in general
• Half Time/ Full Time: Wrexham/ Ipswich @ 30/1 BetVictor, 25/1 in general

FA Cup 4th Round - Saturday:

Aston Villa v Newcastle

• Half Time/ Full Time: Newcastle/ Aston Villa @ 25/1 BetVictor, 22/1 and 20/1 in general
• Half Time/ Full Time: Aston Villa/ Newcastle @ 30/1 BetVictor, 28/1 and 25/1 in general

EFL - Saturday:

• TRIXIE. Win & Both Teams to Score: QPR, Barnsley, Crewe - best odds Bet365 (101/1 the treble), Skybet (99/1), William Hill (95/1)

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Have a good weekend - and enjoy the football…

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Across the Leagues