The draws for the fourth and fifth round of the FA Cup took place on the same day earlier this month in order to help with fixture scheduling in this coronavirus-impacted season.
The unusual measure may have taken away a hint of the excitement for some of the smaller teams left in the competition but it has also left others with some tantalising encounters to look forward to – if they can make it through.
Chief among those would be a tie between National League North side Chorley and Premier League giants Arsenal.
Semi-pro Chorley will first have to overcome Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night while the Gunners, who won this competition for a record 14th time last season, need to beat Southampton on Saturday.
Crawley Town, who memorably beat Leeds United in the third round, will be eyeing another match up against top tier opposition in the shape of Fulham or Burnley – if they can first defeat Bournemouth – while Doncaster Rovers will travel to either Old Trafford or Anfield should they cause an upset against West Ham.
FA Cup 5th round draw
To be played on 9, 10, 11 February
- Fulham/Burnley vs Bournemouth/Crawley Town
- Manchester United/Liverpool vs West Ham/Doncaster
- Sheffield United/Plymouth vs Millwall/Bristol City
- Chorley/Wolves vs Southampton/Arsenal
- Barnsley/Norwich vs Chelsea/Luton Town
- Everton/Sheffield Wednesday vs Wycombe/Tottenham
- Swansea City/Nottingham Forest vs Cheltenham Town/Manchester City
- Brentford/Leicester vs Brighton/Blackpool
One of the biggest mismatches in the fourth round will take place at Whaddon Road where League Two side Cheltenham Town host Manchester City.
The Robins’ manager Michael Duff has labelled the tie as “the biggest free hit in history”.
Cheltenham are sixth in League Two – 72 places below City in the football pyramid and Jermaine McGlashan remains their record £50,000 signing from Aldershot in January 2012, with Brian Wilson and Grant McCann costing the same almost 20 years ago.
The figure is dwarfed by the £64.3million City paid Benfica for defender Ruben Dias in September and Duff knows the game is a mismatch.
“It’s the biggest free hit in history and then we move on,” he said. “We will do everything we can to make it as difficult as possible.
“There will be a little bit of trepidation because they are not bad but there will be a nervous excitement. It’s an opportunity to get away from the league, it has been relentless asking the players to go again.
“The players will get a bit of kudos and a bit of attention which will be nice for them. This is a bit of reward, a little bit of sugar and we’ll crack on from Monday in the league as normal.
“We are not going to try to out-football them, we just have to give a really good account of ourselves and you never know what might happen, it’s the FA Cup.
“We have things like a long throw and people who are good in the air – the key is can you get a throw in their half to start with?
“You are in the FA Cup for moments like this, just give it your best shot. Will we win? Probably not – but you never know.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3o840xp
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