The FA Cup enters its final stages
This weekend saw the round of 16 take place, and of the eight teams in the quarter-finals, six are from the Premier League, one from the Championship and another from League One.
Port Vale provided the big surprise of the FA Cup round of 16. The Ligue One bottom side narrowly beat Sunderland to sneak into the quarter-finals and are now one round away from playing at Wembley. Another highlight was the victory of Southampton, from the Championship, who beat Fulham away to be among the top eight.
In the other matches involving Premier League teams, there were no surprises. Liverpool and Manchester City comfortably beat Wolves and Newcastle away from home, both by 1-3; Arsenal struggled to narrowly beat League One side Mansfield, and Chelsea had to resort to extra time to eliminate Championship side Wrexham after drawing in the final minutes.
Finally, Leeds United and West Ham made the most of their home advantage. Leeds comfortably beat Norwich from the English Second Division. The Londoners, meanwhile, had to resort to penalties to eliminate Brentford in a very close tie.
FA Cup Round of 16 results
- Wolves 1-3 Liverpool
- Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal
- Wrexham 2-4 Chelsea
- Newcastle 1-3 Manchester City
- Fulham 0-1 Southampton
- Port Vale 1-0 Sunderland
- Leeds United 3-0 Norwich
- West Ham 2-2 Brentford (5-3 on penalties)
Quarter-final draw
With no time to lose, the FA Cup quarter-final draw has already taken place. This is the last round to be played as a single match at the home ground of one of the two teams, as the semi-finals and final are played at Wembley. The quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of 4 and 5 April, the semi-finals on 17 and 18 April and the final on 16 May.
The highlight of the quarter-finals is the tie between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium. The only Ligue One survivor, Port Vale, will travel to London to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. If they qualify for the semi-finals, it would be one of the surprises of recent decades.
Meanwhile, Southampton, the only Championship team, will host Arsenal at home. Mikel Arteta's side are favourites, but they know they cannot relax if they want to remain in contention for four titles this season. The quarter-finals will be rounded off by the tie between West Ham and Leeds United, which will be played at the London Stadium.
FA Cup quarter-finals
- Chelsea - Port Vale
- Manchester City - Liverpool
- Southampton - Arsenal
- West Ham - Leeds United
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