FA Cup fourth round draw
Liverpool face a trip to either Bristol City of the Championship or Shrewsbury Town of League One in the fourth round of the FA Cup, while for the holders, Manchester City, there is be a home tie with Fulham, also of the Championship, to contend with.
In what was a largely underwhelming draw, the visit of the European champions and current Premier League leaders to lower-league opposition is arguably the tie of the round, and one that will almost certainly see Jürgen Klopp deploy a number of young players, as he did in Liverpool’s third-round victory over Everton.
Having beaten Port Vale in their third-round tie, City will face the team that sits fifth in the second-tier following their victory over Aston Villa. Elsewhere, League One Tranmere will host either Wolves or Manchester United should they get past Watford in the replay that came about after Micky Mellon’s side came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Vicarage Road on Saturday. Wolves and United drew 0-0 in their third-round tie.
Rochdale and Newcastle also drew and the winner of their replay will host Oxford. Chelsea, meanwhile, head to Hull while Leicester travel to Brentford and Tottenham, should they win their replay against Middlesbrough, will be away at Southampton.
West Ham host West Bromwich Albion while Arsenal will travel to Bournemouth. Finally, Norwich take on Burnley, Sheffield United travel to Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday travel to Queens Park Rangers and Northampton, the lowest-ranked side through, host Derby.
All ties will take place on the weekend of 25-26 January.
Women’s FA Cup
The holders Manchester City will take on Manchester United in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup. The tie is scheduled to take place on 26 January at United’s Leigh Sports Village home. Last season’s runners-up, West Ham, face a trip to league leaders Arsenal while Chelsea travel to Charlton, Tottenham host Barnsley and Everton entertain the London Bees. Reading are away at London City Lionesses, Brighton head to Aston Villa, Bristol City host Durham and Liverpool welcome Blackburn.
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The draw in full
Watford or Tranmere Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers or Manchester United
Hull City v Chelsea
Southampton v Middlesbrough or Tottenham Hotspur
QPR v Sheffield Wednesday
Bournemouth v Arsenal
Northampton Town v Derby County
Brentford v Leicester City
Millwall v Sheffield United
Reading or Blackpool v Cardiff City or Carlisle United
West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion
Burnley v Norwich City
Bristol Rovers or Coventry City v Birmingham City
Manchester City v Fulham
Rochdale or Newcastle United v Oxford United
Portsmouth v Barnsley
Bristol City or Shrewsbury Town v Liverpool
Ties to be played over the weekend of January 24-27.
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And finally it’s Bristol City/Shrewsbury v Liverpool.
Portsmouth v Barnsley.
Rochdale/Newcastle v Oxford United.
Manchester City v Fulham.
Bristol Rovers/Coventry City v Birmingham City.
Burnley v Norwich City.
West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion.
Reading/Blackpool v Cardiff/Carlisle.
Millwall v Sheffield United.
Brentford v Leicester City.
Northampton Town v Derby County.
Bournemouth v Arsenal or Leeds.
QPR v Sheffield Wednesday.
Southampton v Middlesbrough/Tottenham Hotspur.
Hull City v Chelsea.
Here we go, then. Alex Scott will be plucking out the home sides, David O’Leary the away teams. And the first team out is ... Watford/Tranmere. They’ll play Wolves or Manchester United!
Two former Arsenal players, Alex Scott and David O’Leary, will be making the draw. They’ll be shaping the late-January fixture lists any minute now. Excited? Of course you are, it’s still the FA Cup when all’s said and done, don’t be that cynic.
How we used to live. The public face of the draw, back in the day. A couple of cold pre-admin sharpeners may or may not have been taken.
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Preamble
Evening. The draw for the fourth round of the 2019-2020 FA Cup is due to begin at 7.35pm GMT. Stay tuned, we’ll be here the moment they shake the velvet bag and the balls inside start to rattle. (OK, they use a fancy perspex bowl these days, and we’re stuck in the 1950s. So sue us!)
Ties will take place between Friday 24 and Monday 27 January. Here’s your club-by-club-or-replay ball guide …
1 Leicester City
2 QPR
3 Fulham
4 Chelsea
5 Wolves or Manchester United
6 West Brom
7 Rochdale or Newcastle
8 Cardiff or Carlisle
9 Oxford
10 Sheffield United
11 Southampton
12 Liverpool
13 Bristol City or Shrewsbury
14 Bournemouth
15 Sheffield Wednesday
16 Bristol Rovers or Coventry
17 Barnsley
18 Manchester City
19 Middlesbrough or Tottenham
20 Reading or Blackpool
21 Watford or Tranmere
22 Norwich
23 Millwall
24 Derby
25 Hull City
26 Brentford
27 Portsmouth
28 Arsenal or Leeds United
29 West Ham
30 Northampton
31 Burnley
32 Birmingham
The balls are in ... and it’s on!
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