Ben Guest
English football’s most successful sides, Manchester United and Liverpool, were paired together as the draw for the FA Cup fourth and fifth-round draws was made on Monday evening.
The FA Cup third round is often one of the highlights of the footballing calendar, with the Premier League sides joining teams from the pyramid below.
While this year’s action is lacking that distinctive cup atmosphere, there were still some classic FA Cup ties, with eighth tier Marine having taken part in one of the biggest David v Goliath ties in competition history as they took on Spurs – though with 160 league places between the two sides, it was unsurprising to see Jose Mourinho’s side progress.
While that game didn’t result in an upset, Chorley did spring a shock by beating a youthful Derby side, and League Two Crawley beat Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds in emphatic fashion, while Blackpool knocked out Big Sam’s West Brom on penalties.
Meanwhile, all of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ navigated their way into the hat for the fourth round draw, which, due to Covid regulations, was drawn at the same time as the fifth round.
The fourth round draw kept the majority of Premier League sides apart, with only Fulham being picked to play against Burnley, while the highlight of the draw saw Manchester United draw Liverpool, the two sides currently in slots one and two in English football.
Fourth-round draw in full
Cheltenham v Man City
Bournemouth v Crawley
Swansea v Nottingham Forest
Man Utd v Liverpool
Southampton/Shrewsbury v Arsenal
Barnsley v Norwich
Chorley v Wolves
Millwall v Bristol City’
Brighton v Blackpool
Wycombe v Tottenham
Fulham v Burnley
Sheffield United v Plymouth
Chelsea v Luton
West Ham v Doncaster
Brentford v Leicester
Everton v Sheffield Wednesday
Fifth round draw in full
Fulham/Burnley v Bournemouth/Crawley
Man Utd/Liverpool v West Ham/Doncaster
Sheffield United/Plymouth v Millwall/Bristol City
Chorley/Wolves v Southampton/Shrewsbury/Arsenal
Barnsley/Norwich v Chelsea/Luton
Everton/Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe/Tottenham
Swansea/Nottingham Forest v Cheltenham v Man City
Brentford/Leicester City v Brighton/Blackpool