1
El Ghazi can expect the Villa’s welcome
Traveling to the Aston Villa looks confusing for Cardiff City, whose main focus is to avoid relegation to League One. Anwar El Ghazi, at least, enjoys the draw. Dutchman spent four years at the Villa, promoting the promotion in Wembley at the end of a loan period in 2018-19 before a permanent move from Lille. El Ghazi’s first goal of a playoff final victory over Derby, along with John McGinn and Tyrone Mings, scored the only survivor from that group. Both club futures are worn in that game under the arch: derby spiral and faced supervision before going down the third tier. El Ghazi can rely on the greeting of a hero at Villa Park on Friday. Villa, who will visit the Club Brugge for a Champions League on the 16 first-leg tie on Tuesday, is expected to advance to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals for the first time since graduating as a runner-up in Arsenal 10 years ago. Ben Fisher
2
Will Esse go for a Millwall with a reunion?
Romain Esse has been used happily by Oliver Glasner since he moved across South London to join the Crystal Palace from Millwall in January. Despite marking his debut against Brentford after getting off the bench, the 19-year-olds remain only in the Premier League. Esse also came as a replacement for the FA Cup’s last spin against Doncaster. After a week in which Palace recorded two great successes, could the fifth-round meeting at his former club at Selhurst Park a chance to give him more minutes? Millwall will return their role as the party’s potential poopers but Esse can return to Haunt with them. Ed aarons
3
Not likely to host Deepdale a goalfest
Preston’s quarrel with Burnley was one of the three fifth-round relationships this season involved two former winners (including Aston Villa V Cardiff and Nottingham Forest V pswich), though Preston finally completed this stage in 1966. It was unlikely to be high marking: Before October these teams played an endless draw in 26 centuries. In the same championship games this season, the latest played on Deepdale two weeks ago, there were only three shots on the target, none of the one. Preston scored 36 goals in the league this season, at the rate of 1.06 a game – only six sides of the championship scored fewer – while Burnley agreed only nine times in their 34 league games, less than half as many as the next best defense of all four divisions (Birma, together, once in the 19th Christmas. Simon Burnton
Preston V Burnley, Saturday 12.15pm
4
Cherry’s chance to break the hegemony
What a cup need, more than anything, is a medium-sized club to terminate the “big six” that is unique to the old pot, and the opportunity will knock out loud for Bournemouth. Some sparkling football over the last few months have been cherry fans who have been thinking of getting excited in the Europe League or even Champions League’s football next season. But in the good form of the league jolted by two consecutive defeats and a thick club covering that path to a top six places, a favorable route to the continent was certainly shown by the cup. Bournemouth has not moved more than the quarter-finals, falling at that stage in 1957 and 2021, but the opportunity to avenge the league’s defeat last week by one side of the Wolves who was shocked by the fears of departure should be captured by Andoni Iraola’s team. In frustration, however, IRAOLA still does not have a full power squad to choose, along with the Redubtable Illia Zabarnyi suspended and Ryan Christie is skeptical after avoiding the loss of Brighton. The wolves do not look like relegation candidates in recent weeks, but Bournemouth should go up and occupy their chance. Tom Davies
5
City fighting for a single chance of silver equipment
After the removal of the Champions League last week of Real Madrid and a title defense with 20 points behind Liverpool leaders, along with the Carabao Cup exit of October in Tottenham, FA Cup is the only trophy of Manchester City can win this season. Such a disease news for their guests from the championship has been further enhanced by PEP Guardiola’s desire to maintain only his first time in charge, in 2016-17, the only barren one in a gilded tenure. Erling Haaland returned from a knee injury to score the winner against the Spurs in the league on Wednesday and asked Guardiola if it was a sign that the “old” city was back. “Never this season is the former city,” he said. “The old city is so beautiful. But we’ll be back.” Jamie Jackson
6
Plymouth’s far -off form improves
Before Miron Muslic was appointed last month Plymouth drew three and none of their 14 league games, matching their journeys ending with a sad average average of 2.5-0.2. Since the Austrian arrival their average game ended 1.67-1. In Sunderland in late January, for the first and only time in the league until this time, they also won the house (even thanks to one goal and in just two minutes). “I am well aware of the awful note we have but these are also the things you can change and turn around,” Muslic said after a 1-1 draw in Luton earlier this month. “I think we’re getting better with a million things.” In this context their 1-0 win in Brentford in the third round was at least a glorious anomaly as the success of 1-0 in Liverpool that brought them to the fifth round, but this test was at a different level. Brentford made six changes and Liverpool 10; The question here is how many PEP guardiola feels that he can be with him. Sb
7
Will the newcastle rest their best?
Eddie Howe is less gung ho than before. Players who carry the injury are no longer pushed through the barrier to the disease but rest when they hit the tired “red zone” while the default high-intensity style of Newcastle is not their automatic modus operandi these days. Howe also appreciates that it is not here to put some games first. Most of the way he insisted that he wanted to defeat Brighton in FA Cup, he knew that the Carabao Cup final would be the winner of Liverpool and Champions League qualifications. Accordingly it would be no surprise if “slightly injured” Alexander Isak was sitting in a second -by -sequence game and some fringe players were satisfied with rare runs out. Joelinton and Sven Botman may get a few minutes after recent injuries but it would be interesting to see if Howe had been with Nick Pope, Rusty since he returned from the injury, or Martin Dubravka remembered the goal. Louise Taylor
NEWCASTLE V BRIGHTON, WEEK 1.15PM
8
Fulham expects to repeat the result from 1908
In March 1908, Fulham and Manchester United met at the FA Cup with the United Top of the League and headed for the first title in their history and sixth cottagers in the second division. The next, in the words of the Manchester Guardian (as it were), “describes the glorious uncertainty of the game”. Our report suggests that the match is all the hallmarks of a scary result: “A very lucky goal scored in the first quarter of an hour” (Herbert Burgess, the United Defender, who booted a clearance at Fulham’s Fred Harrison and it broke the net), a freakish well and shoulders above his colleagues; ” Sb
Manchester United V Fulham, Week 4.30pm
9
Fear the ipswich risk of the set-piece of the forest
Since the disposal of the seven goals that passed Brighton on the first day of the month, February became an awkward for Nottingham Forest: they needed too much time and penalty to defeat the 10-man exeter in the fourth cup of cup, lost in both Fulham and Newcastle, and on Wednesday was drawn 0-0 with Arsenal. There was a clear relief in the description of Nuno Espírito Saint about a fighting performance against Mikel Arteta’s side: “The most important thing is to realize how we do things … The positive is the clean sheet and, more than anything else, finding ourselves as a team again the way we do things.” Ipswich could consider the soul looking for a little overweight in a poor result, given that they lost six of their eight league games this year on the calendar. On Wednesday they filed three times from sets of pieces in Manchester United, and Kieran McKenna admitted that “we could not deal with the United States and Physical Physicians in the penalty box”. They will be braced for another test against a team that is –outcored from sets that are just arsenal in the league this season. Sb
Nottingham Forest V pswich, Monday 7.30pm
10
Don’t be afraid, Var is back to save FA Cup
The fourth twist gave us a pleasing smattering of the mysterious moments. Perhaps your soul is triggered by the giant-killing of Plymouth Liverpool, or the stunning goals developed by Birmingham’s Tomoki Iwata and Leyton Orient’s Jamie Donley. Alternatively, you may have just spent the weekend of Harry Maguire’s revolt for Manchester United against Leicester and the Var. In which case, Bellycheche is no longer, for the soothing technology balm is back for the fifth cycle to ensure that we are no longer controversy. Even more exciting, we also have semi-automatic technology on offside, aimed at speeding up decisions, which is overcome in all relationships except Preston’s meeting with Burnley, the only match that has not been hosted on a Premier League team. The introduction of technology, used in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was delayed while further refinement was made. Professional game officials and Premier League officials have expressed themselves satisfied with its development and all systems are going, so expect no more arguments about offside again. Td
