The Fifth-Round Ties of the FA Cup Are Secured
The FA Cup has been reduced to 16 teams for the fifth-round tie. The FA Cup starts with 747 teams over 14 rounds, culminating in a single winner in English Football. The fifth-round ties will be played over the weekend, starting on March 7th and 8th. The victors of these fifth-round ties will determine who is in the quarterfinals. The fifth-round draw took place on Macclesfield’s ground, the team that beat the defending champions, Crystal Palace, in the third round.
Fulham have gone against two current Championship sides: Middlesbrough and Stoke City. The Premier League side has beaten both teams to advance to the fifth round. Despite the victories, Fulham did not keep a clean sheet in either of those matches. Fulham will host Southampton in the fifth-round tie. Southampton is not only fighting to get back into the Premier League after last year’s relegation, but they are also fighting in the FA Cup. They had a close-margin win against Doncaster in the third round, with the match ending 2-3. In their fourth-round match against Leicester, they were walking a fine line, with the Premier League side threatening to draw after a 2-1 win. They pulled out a win in stoppage time, James Bree scoring in the 109th minute. They have previously won the FA Cup in 1976.
Port Vale against Bristol City commences on March 3rd at 2:45 p.m. EST. Port Vale is taking on a club that is one league higher than them in the Football League One. Bristol City threatens Port Vale’s run into the fifth round with their experience in the higher league, such as the Championship. The winner of this match will host Sunderland. Sunderland had a surge of brilliance in the Premier League. The newly-promoted team beat West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, and Newcastle. They drew with Arsenal, the team currently at the top of the Premier League table, and with Liverpool, the defending champions. In their third-round tie, they had to go to penalties against Everton and won 0-3 on spot kicks. Recently, they beat Oxford United by a single penalty awarded in the 32nd minute.
Newcastle United faced fellow Premier League side Bournemouth in the fourth round, a challenge they won on sudden-death penalties to progress. Their luck in the FA Cup draw does not seem to be on their side, as they had to beat another Premier League team, Aston Villa. Their bad luck continues, as they will face Manchester City at home. City are in the title race with Arsenal for the Premier League trophy. Depending on how each team does in the FA Cup, they could see each other in the final of the FA Cup. Man City’s third-round tie seemed to be practice for them as they scored ten goals against Football League One’s Exeter City. The Premier League side struggled in their fourth-round tie against Salford City, scoring only two goals but keeping a clean sheet. Both teams are former FA Cup winners. Newcastle has six FA Cup trophies. Meanwhile, Man City has a total of seven FA Cup trophies.
Leeds United, the newly-promoted Premier League team, dispatched Derby County 1-3 in the third round. They had a difficult time against Birmingham, going beyond standard regulation time and winning 1-1, then 4-2 on penalties. Leeds United will host Norwich City for their FA Cup fifth-round tie. Norwich City beat Walsall 5-1 and West Brom 3-1 to reach the fifth-round tie. They hope to continue their run as they are languishing in the bottom half of the Championship.
Mansfield Town, the Football League One side, has beaten Sheffield United 3-4 and Burnley 1-2. Both matches ended very close, with the other team only one goal away from forcing a draw into extra time or penalties. Mansfield Town will go up against the table-toppers for the Premier League. Arsenal are looking to finally win the Premier League after finishing second for the past three seasons. They are not only looking to secure Premier League silverware but also the coveted FA Cup. Their third- and fourth-round ties have been high-scoring matches, with them scoring a total of eight goals but keeping only one clean sheet.
Wolves are looking for the positives in the FA Cup, as they are at the bottom of the Premier League table with only one win this season. They beat an easy opponent in the form of Shrewsbury from Football League Two 6-1. Another opponent from Football League Two proved a tougher challenge in Grimsby Town. Wolves were only able to score one goal against the lower side through Santiago Bueno in the 60th minute. Wolves will host fellow Premier League team Liverpool at the Molineux Stadium. Liverpool’s matches in the FA Cup have been high scoring for them. Their third-round tie against Barnsley ended 4-1, and their fourth-round tie against Brighton ended 3-0. They are showing their dominance in the FA Cup, with a focus on winning silverware.
Wrexham is well-known for its famous owners, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Wrexham beat Premier League side Nottingham Forest on penalties after the high-scoring regulation halves. Wrexham beat fellow Championship team Ipswich Town in their fourth round tie. Wrexham had back-to-back promotions from the National League to the Championship. They are looking to keep their momentum alive by getting deeper into the FA Cup. Wrexham will host Chelsea. Chelsea easily dispatched their two previous Championship sides in the FA Cup: Charlton and Hull City. Their form in the FA Cup looks unstoppable, as they scored nine goals and conceded only one in those two matches. They have previously won the FA Cup eight times.
West Ham United have squeaked out their victories in the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup. They beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1, and they managed to win 0-1 against Burton despite being down to 10 men for part of the two extra-time halves, as both teams were 0-0 after the regulation 90 minutes. Freddie Potts received the red card at the 101st minute. They will host Macclesfield or Brentford at the London Stadium. Macclesfield has already faced a Premier League side and won. They were the team that knocked out defending champions, Crystal Palace, in the third round. They will face Brentford in the fourth round to try to secure their spot in the tournament. West Ham United will know their opponent on February 16th at 2:30 p.m. EST.
