The Chronicle

So are you ready for the big time?

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NEXT stop, the big time!

This weekend sees the staging of the FA Cup second round, with lower league clubs vying for the opportunit­y to grab a plum third round tie against a top Premier League side on Monday, December 2, when the draw is made.

Successful second round clubs will receive £54,000 from the FA prize fund.

But it’s the prospect of becoming an FA Cup giantkille­r, like Newport’s slaying of Leicester in January or Portsmouth’s win at Norwich, which really motivates lower league clubs.

We’re celebratin­g this special weekend by teaming up the world’s oldest and original football cup competitio­n with the world’s oldest and original football betting medium, The Pools, in an extra-special round of footie5.

Footie5 is The Pools’ free-to-play football prediction game, where players are challenged to pick the scores in five fixtures for the chance to win a £25,000 jackpot.

But what makes footie5 special is that you can pick the games you want to predict each week – and this weekend that includes the FA Cup second round.

So, while you can choose to predict scores from some of the biggest matches in the Premier League, you can also choose to predict how teams such as Hartlepool will fare.

Not sure how Everton will do at Leicester? Swap it for Oldham’s home tie with Burton.

Uncertain about Manchester United vs Aston Villa? Swap it for League One Tranmere hosting the lowest ranked team left in the competitio­n, Chichester City.

Our footie5 ambassador­s Jermaine Jenas and Sam Quek offer their own tips every week.

Liverpool fan Quek has backed Tranmere

Rovers to reach the third round and beat nonleague Chichester City 3-0.

She said: “After a good win away at Wycombe Wanderers in the first round, Tranmere should be turning over Chichester, who play in the eighth tier of English football.” Meanwhile, former Newcastle and Forest midfielder Jenas is backing Northampto­n to beat National League side Notts County 2-0.

He said: “The Cobblers are in good form and are looking comfortabl­e in front of goal. Notts County are very inconsiste­nt at the moment so I cannot see them winning this one.”

You can follow their advice – Jermaine is currently leading their personal head to head – or follow your own hunches.

To play the latest round of footie5, just head to footie5.com now and register if you’ve not done so.

You’ll be presented with five fixtures already chosen for you, but to pick a different game simply tap on Swap Fixture and select the game you want to predict.

Enter the scores you’re predicting for each game – there’s stats on every team to help you along. Once you’ve confirmed your predicted scores for the five games, you can even back your prediction­s with a simple paid bet. Or just play our free-to-play game, where the £25,000 jackpot is up for grabs if you get your five scorelines bang on. Then it’s time to sit back and watch the action!

 ??  ?? Jermaine Jenas and Sam Quek
Jermaine Jenas and Sam Quek

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