Our report on the fourth and fifth-round draws!
The fourth-round tie that really springs out isn’t Manchester United versus Liverpool - they’ll have played each other in the league the week before, for a start - but Chorley v Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves fans of a certain vintage will remember the non-league side knocking out the four-time winners in 1986-87, 3-1 after a couple of draws, so that will get the juices flowing one way or another. “I went to all three games,” writes Kevin Porter. “You know those recurring nightmares?” There are other eye-opening ties: Cheltenham of League Two are rewarded with the visit of Manchester City, there’s a fair chance Southampton will welcome Arsenal, Everton and Sheffield Wednesday restage the 1966 final, and Chelsea host Luton in a rerun of the 1994 semi.
As for the fifth round ... well, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. But it’s all there, for you to pore over. Enjoy your dreams. Oh, and join me for the Stockport v West Ham game, which will decide who will host Doncaster Rovers in round four, and possibly travel to either Old Trafford or Anfield in the fifth round.
Updated
The complete fifth-round draw
Ties are scheduled for February 10.
Fulham or Burnley will play Bournemouth or Crawley
Manchester United or Liverpool v Stockport County or West Ham or Doncaster Rovers
Sheffield United or Plymouth Argyle v Millwall or Bristol City
Chorley or Wolves v Southampton or Shrewsbury Town or Arsenal
Barnsley or Norwich City v Chelsea or Luton Town
Everton or Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe Wanderers or Tottenham Hotspur
Swansea or Nottingham Forest v Cheltenham or Manchester City
Brentford or Leicester v Brighton or Blackpool
... and a reminder of the complete fourth-round draw. Ties to be played the weekend of January 23.
Cheltenham Town v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Crawley Town
Swansea City v Nottingham Forest
Manchester United v Liverpool
Southampton or Shrewsbury Town v Arsenal
Barnsley v Norwich City
Chorley v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Millwall v Bristol City
Brighton & Hove Albion v Blackpool
Wycombe Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham v Burnley
Sheffield United v Plymouth Argyle
Chelsea v Luton Town
Stockport County or West Ham United v Doncaster Rovers
Brentford v Leicester City
Everton v Sheffield Wednesday
Updated
Brentford or Leicester v Brighton or Blackpool
Swansea or Nottingham Forest v Cheltenham or Manchester City
Everton or Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe Wanderers or Tottenham Hotspur
Barnsley or Norwich City v Chelsea or Luton Town
Chorley or Wolves v Southampton or Shrewsbury Town or Arsenal
Sheffield United or Plymouth Argyle v Millwall or Bristol City
Manchester United or Liverpool v Stockport County or West Ham or Doncaster Rovers
Some cracking matches coming up there. But no time to take a breather, because here comes the draw for the fifth round. The ball numbers, for what this is worth, correspond to the order the ties were decided in the fourth-round draw. Here we go ... and first out is 11: Fulham or Burnley will play Bournemouth or Crawley.
The complete fourth-round draw
Ties to be played the weekend of January 23.
Cheltenham Town v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Crawley Town
Swansea City v Nottingham Forest
Manchester United v Liverpool
Southampton or Shrewsbury Town v Arsenal
Barnsley v Norwich City
Chorley v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Millwall v Bristol City
Brighton & Hove Albion v Blackpool
Wycombe Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham v Burnley
Sheffield United v Plymouth Argyle
Chelsea v Luton Town
Stockport County or West Ham United v Doncaster Rovers
Brentford v Leicester City
Everton v Sheffield Wednesday
Updated
And finally it’s a repeat of the 1966 final: Everton v Sheffield Wednesday.
Brentford v Leicester City
Stockport County or West Ham United v Doncaster Rovers
Chelsea v Luton Town
Sheffield United v Plymouth Argyle
Fulham v Burnley
Wycombe Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
“I feel it could be their year,” suggests Crouch of Spurs.
Brighton & Hove Albion v Blackpool
Millwall v Bristol City
Chorley v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Barnsley v Norwich City
Southampton or Shrewsbury Town v Arsenal
Updated
Manchester United v Liverpool
!!!
“Sorry about that,” says Crouch.
Updated
Swansea City v Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth v Crawley Town
Peter Crouch, who won this competition with Liverpool in 2006, will make the draw. The first ball he pulls out is 32: Cheltenham Town. They’ll play 25: Manchester City. What a tie for the League Two side!
Preamble
That was the best FA Cup third round in a fair while, wasn’t it? Crawley shocking Leeds. Non-league Chorley making it through. Blackpool seeing off Big Sam. Neil Kengni inches away from giving eighth-tier Marine a spectacular lead against Spurs. MK Dons midfielder Ben Gladwin nearly recreating the famous Ronnie Radford goal against Burnley. Louie Barry’s ice-cool, age-belying finish for Aston Villa U-12s against Liverpool. Late drama between Newport and Brighton. It was a great weekend.
Now to see who plays who in the fourth round ... and in a break with tradition (though the cup’s been sponsored by the likes of Littlewoods and Budweiser in the past, so let’s not get too precious) the fifth round as well. It’ll aid scheduling during these strange, postponement-littered times, you see. The clubs in the metaphorical velvet bag for the fourth round are listed below, along with their draw numbers. Once the fourth-round draw is complete, a new set of 16 numbers will be generated for the fifth-round draw, and before you know it, everyone will be aware of their path to the quarter-finals.
The fourth-round draw will take place at 7.10pm GMT, with the fifth-round draw to follow, all going to plan, at 7.23pm. It’s on!
1 Plymouth Argyle
2 Southampton or Shrewsbury Town
3 Chorley
4 Tottenham Hotspur
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers
6 Stockport County or West Ham United
7 AFC Bournemouth
8 Manchester United
9 Swansea City
10 Everton
11 Nottingham Forest
12 Arsenal
13 Barnsley
14 Sheffield United
15 Millwall
16 Doncaster Rovers
17 Leicester City
18 Wycombe Wanderers
19 Crawley Town
20 Burnley
21 Bristol City
22 Fulham
23 Liverpool
24 Brentford
25 Manchester City
26 Luton Town
27 Chelsea
28 Sheffield Wednesday
29 Norwich City
30 Blackpool
31 Brighton & Hove Albion
32 Cheltenham Town
Updated
