The FA Cup returned with a bang last night. The fourth-round kicked off on Thursday evening with Bournemouth facing off against Championship side Swansea City. The Premier League team ran out 5-0 winners, putting on a first-half finishing clinic to progress to the next round. Here’s hoping the rest of the fixtures are filled with just as many goals.
Here’s our FA Cup fourth-round preview.
Stamford Bridge showdown
There are a number of games on Friday night.
One of the standout ones is Chelsea playing host to Aston Villa. The Blues, rather emphatically, booked their place in the Carabao Cup final after thrashing Middlesbrough in mid-week. Villa, meanwhile, haven’t been in action since January 14th. This could be both a blessing and a curse. Unai Emery’s men could be fresh after a mini-break or a little sluggish after almost two weeks without a match.
Heading into this match, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are actually the form team having won four of their last five. By comparison, across all competitions, Villa have just one win in their last five. So while the visitors might be 12 points better off in the Premier League, the hosts are going to fancy their chances in this tie.
A big test for Manchester City
We’re being spoilt on Friday evening. The second big clash of the night sees Manchester City travel to London to face off against Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite their dominance under Pep Guardiola, City haven’t been able to dominate Spurs. Across the last 10 matches between the two sides in all competitions, the reigning FA Cup holders have managed to defeat Tottenham on just two occasions. Guardiola’s side have actually lost half of these match-ups, with four of these losses coming away from home.
With the return of so many key players, Ange Postecoglou’s side have looked a little more like their old selves over recent weeks. They will fancy their chances of causing an upset. However, City have the difference-maker back in the shape of Kevin De Bruyne and you simply cannot plan for what he’s capable of.
It has the potential to be a blockbuster match-up.
A proper FA Cup clash
Ipswich Town are flying high in the Championship this term. The Tractor Boys are second, just seven points off the summit, and they recently held leaders Leicester to a 1-1 draw. Their form over the past few weeks hasn’t been great, though, with Kieran McKenna’s side winning just one of their previous five matches in the English second tier.
But they are going to be confident heading into their FA Cup clash as they welcome National League South (England’s sixth tier) side Maidstone United to Portman Road for the early Saturday afternoon kick-off.
The semi-professional team are fourth in their league and are managed by former Wolves defender George Elokobi. There is no real pressure on them so this is essentially a free hit. This dynamic could make for an all-time classic.
Friends reunited at Anfield
Norwich City travel to Anfield on Sunday afternoon looking to cause an upset against the Premier League leaders. Liverpool are still in contention for all four trophies this season but this might not be the case come Sunday evening.
The Reds have injury issues and having played on Wednesday evening, Jürgen Klopp might have to heavily rotate his side ahead of the upcoming mid-week game against Chelsea. A weakened team against a motivated Norwich City side could result in an upset.
This tie also pits Klopp against one of his best friends, David Wagner. The Norwich boss isn’t under intense pressure at Carrow Road but they’re eighth in the Championship, a positive performance here could give him a little breathing space over the next couple of months.
Pressure on Manchester United
On paper, this should be a banker for the Red Devils. The Premier League side travel to Newport County on Sunday afternoon. For those unfamiliar with the club playing host to Manchester United this weekend, they are currently mid-table in League Two and only eight teams have conceded more goals than them this season.
The Welsh side beat Eastleigh, of the National League, in the last round to set up this historic clash.
One thing to note here though is that Newport have been on a decent run over the past couple of weeks. They are unbeaten in over a month and claimed a 1-0 win over high-flying Wrexham in their last outing. So, they’ll be as confident as they possibly can be heading into this game against Man United.
It is one of those old-school FA Cup games. The underdog has nothing to lose so could fly out of the traps and make life difficult. If United can’t weather the storm, it could make for an interesting tie. If they score an early goal, however, it could be a very long day for the hosts. The first 10 minutes could set the game up nicely.
Ewood Park welcomes Hollywood
The final match of the fourth round sees Blackburn Rovers play host to Wrexham on Monday night.
The hosts have been in freefall since mid-December. They have won just one of their last eight matches in all competitions and that was a 5-2 win over Cambridge United in the FA Cup. They have lost five of their last seven in the Championship and now find themselves in 17th position. Earlier in the campaign, a play-off push looked likely.
By comparison, League Two side Wrexham are flying. They fell to defeat in their last outing but remain second in the table. They’re scoring goals and they managed to defeat League One side Shrewsbury Town in the last round.
If they were able to knock Blackburn out though, that would be some upset. And they probably will be confident of a result at Ewood Park.
(Image from IMAGO)
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