Summary
Not the most exciting draw, if we’re honest with ourselves. There are no blockbuster ties: in fact only Crystal Palace v Stoke City, (possibly) Liverpool v West Ham and (possibly) Aston Villa v Manchester City are the only all-Premier League matches.
Non-League Eastleigh would have been hoping for an away day at one of the top flight clubs but will have to make do with a home tie to Leeds United, should they beat Bolton in their third-round replay. Oxford United are also at home and will welcome fans of either Newport County or Blackburn Rovers to the Kassam Stadium. Not exactly spellbinding stuff, but at least there is a decent chance that they can make it through to the fifth-round draw.
Broadcasters will no doubt try to conjure a local rivalry out of Portsmouth v Bournemouth (should Pompey make it past Ipswich) but in truth, there isn’t much ill-sentiment between the two.
High-flying Derby County will relish the task of turning over Manchester United. The two last met in the FA Cup in 2009, with United coming away from the then-named Pride Park with a 4-1 win, thanks to goals from Nani, Darren Gibson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Danny Welbeck. Daniel Taylor’s report of that match aptly started like this …
Manchester United have won so many games 1–0 recently that the football world might have been duped into thinking they had brought in a new code of conservatism.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of your Monday everyone. Bye!
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The FA Cup fourth-round draw in full
West Brom or Bristol City v Peterborough United
Eastleigh or Bolton v Leeds United
Arsenal v Burnley
Derby County v Manchester United
Huddersfield Town or Reading v Walsall
Exeter City or Liverpool v West Ham
Wycombe Wanderers or Aston Villa v Manchester City
Shrewsbury Town v Sheffield Wednesday
Nottingham Forest v Watford
Carlisle United or Yeovil v Everton
Crystal Palace v Stoke City
Oxford United v Newport County or Blackburn Rovers
Ipswich Town or Portsmouth v Bournemouth
Colchester United v Tottenham or Leicester City
Bury or Bradford City v Hull City
Northampton Town or MK Dons v Chelsea
That’s your lot!
The fourth-round matches will be played on the weekend of 30-31 January and the third-round replays (and one postponement, Newport County v Blackburn Rovers) will be decided between 19-20 January.
@IAmTheFACup @MissAlexjones You're an inanimate object that hasnt been relevant for 20 years. Feel like she's doing a good impression
— Damo (@DamoclesCity) January 11, 2016
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Northampton Town or MK Dons v Chelsea
Bury or Bradford City v Hull City
Colchester United v Tottenham or Leicester City
Ipswich Town or Portsmouth v Bournemouth
Oxford United v Newport County or Blackburn Rovers
Crystal Palace v Stoke City
Carlisle United or Yeovil v Everton
Nottingham Forest v Watford
Shrewsbury Town v Sheffield Wednesday
Wycombe Wanderers or Aston Villa v Manchester City
Exeter City or Liverpool v West Ham
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Huddersfield Town or Reading v Walsall
Derby County v Manchester United
Arsenal v Burnley
Eastleigh or Bolton v Leeds United
Tasty! Big travelling support for Leeds should bolster either Eastleigh or Bolton’s coffers. Both need it.
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First up:
West Brom or Bristol City v Peterborough United
It's time for the #EmiratesFACup fourth round draw. We got Chelsea at home in the rehearsal! #OUFC
— Oxford United FC (@OUFCOfficial) January 11, 2016
Here we go then, the draw for the FA Cup fourth round. We’ve just seen a tasty montage with all the best bits from the third-round: namely Sergio Aguero’s goal and Gareth Ainsworth’s hair.
“The whole draw is made for clichés so it will be riddled by them” reassures Mark Chapman, who has joined Jones and Baker on the sofa. “Gary Lineker nearly ruined the fourth-round draw last year. He dropped a ball and nearly put it back in the bag.”
“I’m nervous,” Wright chips in.
“We need more days and nights like this”, Oxford United manager said after their fantastic 3-2 victory over Swansea. Presumably days and night that don’t precede a full mid-week Premier League fixture list.
CUPSET! @OUFCOfficial fans can enjoy seeing @Roofe39's goal from their #EmiratesFACup win over @SwansOfficial again! https://t.co/rk5QIQqPEu
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 11, 2016
Here we go then.. The players are ready! Are you? #Spitfires #EmiratesFACup #FourthRoundDraw pic.twitter.com/Zkj9IgLGVi
— Eastleigh FC (@eastleighfc) January 11, 2016
Rick Wakeman, Yes keyboardist and friend of Bowie’s, is also paying tribute to Bowie. “This is the biggest death in the industry in my lifetime. Bigger than when we lost Elvis.”
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“I am an American Evertonian,” writes Brad Wilson, “and the 2009 FA Cup fourth-round replay that EFC won at Goodison Park over Liverpool was one the best 120-plus minutes I have ever sat in front of a TV set. I went to one footy pub in Philadelphia, got halfway in, heard THAT song being sung and turned around and went down the street to a place that hardly knew what the FA Cup was but put the game on for me and had good Guinness. Gosling’s winner shot me straight out of my seat. FA Cup magic indeed!!”
Here’s the Guardian’s take on that day:
Everton are in the hat for tonight: they beat Dagenham and Redbridge 2-0 on Saturday.
Next up, a man in a flat cap is in Brixton paying tribute to David Bowie, who was born there. RIP. This being an FA Cup draw live blog, it seems an appropriate moment to post this.
Tracey Ullman is on the sofa telling people about her new show. She did an interview with the Observer yesterday, if you’re interested. You probably didn’t click onto this live blog for that, did you?
The One show has started! Presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker, sporting a pair of lovely beige slacks, walk through a crowd of football fans into the studio. Mark Chapman and Ian Wright are on standby. The atmosphere is tense.*
*It’s not.
#priorities
@guardian_sport @michaelbutler18 the @premierleague stars have been excluded from the #BallondOr so that they don't miss out on this #FACup
— Afzal (@afzbug) January 11, 2016
Lionel Messi has just won the Ballon D’Or for a fifth time. You can get the latest with John Ashdown now. Somehow he didn’t win the Puskas Award for the best goal of 2015. Instead, Wendell Lira got that gong for this:
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Fans of football, have you got any FA Cup stories to warm my heart? A villain that became a hero? A nice gesture of support from one club to another? A moment of horribly clichéd ‘magic’ perhaps?
Do email in: michael.butler@theguardian.com or tweet me @michaelbutler18
Quite enjoyed this from Friday night:
I’ll be liveblogging The One Show from 7pm then. Welcome to Guardian Sport, 2016 edition. For actual, proper journalism on FA Cup football, why don’t you have a go on our third-round talking points and a lovely gallery of the best images from the aforementioned round of association football.
Preamble
It’s hard to know which is more baffling: Fifa’s decision to have Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt host the Ballon D’Or, or the BBC’s decision to broadcast the FA Cup fourth-round draw live on The One Show, presumably wedged somewhere in between Davina McCall promoting a new Zumba DVD and a segue about the latest fashion craze in Norfolk. But reader, that’s what we’re faced with on this cold Monday night. Whoever said that broadcasters were devaluing football’s oldest cup competition?
Despite the scheduling problems, the weakened teams, managers sticking the boot into their own groundstaff and a performance that left many inside Old Trafford sticking pins into their eyes, we did at least have some lively FA Cup third-round action over the weekend. League Two’s Oxford United rolled back the years with a 3-2 victory over Swansea, Exeter City deservedly earned a replay at Anfield after twice taking the lead against Liverpool, and non-League Eastleigh came within a whisker of knocking out Championship side Bolton.
The fourth-round matches will be played on the weekend of 30-31 January and the third-round replays (and one postponement, Newport County v Blackburn Rovers) will be decided between 19-20 January.
The draw numbers in full:
1 Watford
2 West Brom or Bristol City
3 West Ham
4 Derby County
5 Exeter City or Liverpool
6 Tottenham or Leicester City
7 Colchester United
8 Peterborough United
9 Northampton Town or MK Dons
10 Arsenal
11 Newport County or Blackburn Rovers
12 Ipswich Town or Portsmouth
13 Bournemouth
14 Wycombe Wanderers or Aston Villa
15 Sheffield Wednesday
16 Oxford United
17 Walsall
18 Bury or Bradford City
19 Manchester United
20 Everton
21 Crystal Palace
22 Eastleigh or Bolton
23 Nottingham Forest
24 Carlisle United or Yeovil
25 Chelsea
26 Stoke
27 Leeds United
28 Shrewsbury Town
29 Huddersfield Town or Reading
30 Burnley
31 Manchester City
32 Hull
Live draw: around 7.15pm GMT. Onnnnnnneeeeeee!
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