The 2026 FA Cup Quarterfinals Are Decided
The FA Cup is down to its final nine teams with one fifth-round tie still needing to be played: West Ham United vs. Brentford. The FA Cup originally started with 747 teams from around England and Wales. Over the course of 14 rounds, 738 clubs have been eliminated to determine the ultimate victor of English and Welsh football. The FA Cup’s quarterfinals will be played on the weekend of April 4th. The winners of the quarterfinals will move into the semifinals and get the chance to play at Wembley. The drawing that determined the quarterfinals took place at West Ham’s London Stadium.
Southampton is punching above its weight in this edition of the FA Cup. As a Championship club currently in eighth place, they are doing well in this cut-throat tournament to reach the quarterfinals. In the fourth and fifth round, they managed to dispatch Leicester City and Fulham. Southampton will have a home game against Arsenal. The Premier League table-toppers, Arsenal, are seeking a quadruple this season, trying to win the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, and UEFA Champions League. Getting a team outside the Premier League to face in the FA Cup would be ideal for them. So far, all three of their matches have been against teams outside of the Premier League: Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, and Mansfield Town. The Gunners are in luck once again as they draw another non-Premier League team. With this draw pick, it seems as if Arsenal are straight into the semifinals; however, they are in three other competitions too. Will the Gunners be able to maintain their energy to the end of the season with multiple items of silverware?
Chelsea is another team who have met opponents from outside the Premier League: Charlton, Hull City, and Wrexham. The Blues will face Port Vale at Stamford Bridge. Port Vale is continuing their brilliant and unexpected run into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. They are dead last in Football League One, but they are making up for their poor performance in their league in the FA Cup. In their fourth and fifth round games, they had matching score lines of 1-0, with victories over Championship side Bristol City and newly-promoted Premier League team Sunderland. Can Port Vale kill another Premier League giant, or has their skill and luck come to an end?
Manchester City will be looking for redemption for letting the FA Cup slip through their grasp last season, losing to Crystal Palace in a controversial match. If they enter the FA Cup final, that would be their second final of the year, with them having to play Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, March 22nd at 12:30 p.m. EDT. To reach the semifinals, Man City will host Liverpool at home. Liverpool are defending champions of the Premier League, but it doesn’t look as if they will get the coveted trophy again. Therefore, they are turning elsewhere for a chance at silverware: the FA Cup. Liverpool’s last matches were against fellow Premier League teams, but ones who tend to inhabit the lower half of the table: Brighton and Wolves, who are in danger of being relegated. During this current Premier League season, Man City has won both its matches against Liverpool. Can Liverpool overcome those two losses and progress in the FA Cup?
The last spot between West Ham United and Brentford will be decided on March 9th at 3:30 p.m. EDT. West Ham United played close matches in the third and fourth rounds. They barely squeaked out both matches against Queens Park Rangers and Burton. Brentford solidly beat Sheffield Wednesday in the third round, but struggled a bit against Macclesfield, which is the club that took out defending champions Crystal Palace, scoring only one goal. West Ham United or Brentford will go against Leeds United in the quarterfinals. Leeds United have prospects of staying in the top league, currently being 15th. In their most recent FA Cup game, they dominated against Norwich City. They won the match 3-0. They hope to bring the winning mentality into the quarterfinals. Can Leeds United stun fans and spectators even further by going mid-table in the Premier League and moving on to the semifinals of the FA Cup?
