Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
This weekend, four FA Cup semi-finalists will go head-to-head for a place in the competition’s climactic showpiece fixture at Wembley later this month.
On Saturday, in the first semi-final, the tournament’s most successful club Arsenal meet current holders Manchester City in a clash that pits Gunners manager against his former manager and mentor Pep Guardiola.
24 hours later, Manchester United and Chelsea continue their pursuit of silverware in the second semi-final, where managerial greenhorns Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will lead their youthful teams into battle against each other for the fourth time this season.
Ahead of what promises to be two instalments of thrilling knockout football action, we’ve compiled some of our favourite Specials and Priceboosts from Virgin Bet for the semi-final double-headers, and remember – we’ll be previewing both fixtures with expert analysis on our FA Cup predictions page.
Virgin Bet’s Price Boosts explained
Virgin Bet are offering customers more with their excellent Price Boost offers for all of this weekend’s FA Cup fixtures. With a nod to the unique, Virgin Bet offer interesting markets at enhanced odds to customers looking for maximum value.
It’s a pretty straight forward task to find Virgin Bet’s Price Boosts and Special for an individual fixture.
Simply navigate to the game of your choice and select the “VB Specials” tab along the top menu and you’ll be shown a list of all of Virgin Bet’s offers for that match.
If you’re on the lookout for multi-game enhanced selections, then you can find them by clicking “Price Boosts” in the left-hand menu on the home page.
Check out working examples of how their Price Boosts work by viewing some of their enhanced odds offers for this week’s FA Cup fixtures below.
For a full list of terms and conditions, visit Virgin Bet’s promotion page by clicking here
Best FA Cup semi-final specials and price boosts
Arsenal vs Manchester City
Both teams to score in the first half
Was – 3/1
Now – 15/4
Manchester City’s dominance over Arsenal in recent seasons has almost been absolute, and on Saturday, the Citizens will be targeting an 8th straight victory over the Gunners in all competitions.
City have wasted little time in putting Arsenal to the sword in recent encounters, hitting first half goals in each of their last seven tussles with the Londoners, including both Premier League clashes the teams contested earlier this season.
The Gunners have been making improvements lately however, and might not be quite so easy to roll over at Wembley. Arsenal hit goals before the half time interval in 100% of their last seven fixtures and can continue that streak on Saturday.
Limited Availability. 90 mins only. ‘Was’ price correct as of 12:00pm on July 17th 2020. Max bet £20. Singles only. Prices subject to fluctuation. For full rules & exclusions click here. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. 18+
Alexandre Lacazette and Raheem Sterling both to score @9/2
After flitting around the periphery of the Arsenal first team for a spell, French forward Alexandre Lacazette bounced back with three crucial goals in his last four Premier League run outs, and the ex-Lyon star should be high on confidence for Saturday’s semi-final.
Raheem Sterling meanwhile, has been in equally electric form of late, bagging four goals in three matches for the Citizens – a haul that included a hattrick against Brighton at the AMEX Stadium.
Sterling, who scored in each of City’s Premier League victories over the Gunners earlier this term, can strike again this weekend, though Lacazette has shown in some big games of late, that he can respond in kind.
Limited Availability. 90 mins only. ‘Was’ price correct as of 12:00pm on July 17th 2020. Max bet £20. Singles only. Prices subject to fluctuation. For full rules & exclusions click here. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. 18+
Manchester United vs Chelsea
Both teams to score in the first half
Was – 7/2
Now – 4/1
We’ve plumped for a similar VB price boost for Sunday’s second FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Chelsea – and with good reason.
United’s first half goal-scoring record against the Blues in 2019/20 is exceptional, with goals registered in the opening period in each of their three meetings with Chelsea since August in league and cup.
Since domestic football’s restart last month, a re-energised United have hit a blistering 12 first half goals, though Chelsea, with plenty of firepower of their own, have the players to make an impact on the scoresheet before the half time whistle too.
Lampard’s charges hit the net before the break in four of their last five, and they should find joy against a United defence that took a while to get going over the past fortnight.
Limited Availability. 90 mins only. ‘Was’ price correct as of 12:00pm on July 17th 2020. Max bet £20. Singles only. Prices subject to fluctuation. For full rules & exclusions click here. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. 18+
Marcus Rashford to score anytime @12/5
Manchester United starlet Marcus Rashford has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch in his last quartet of appearances, notching on three separate occasions against Bournemouth, Southampton and Crystal Palace respectively.
The England international looks close to his best at the moment, and Rashford has already showcased his skills against Chelsea this season, hitting four goals in two starts against the Blues in the Premier League and Carabao Cup before Christmas.
The 22-year-old attacker seems to have the measure of this Chelsea defence, and Virgin Bet have priced him at generous odds to punish the Blues again on Sunday.
Limited Availability. 90 mins only. ‘Was’ price correct as of 12:00pm on July 17th 2020. Max bet £20. Singles only. Prices subject to fluctuation. For full rules & exclusions click here. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. 18+
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