F.A. Cup 5th Round Preview

Like most teams who will take the opportunity to put out a weakened team on F.A. Cup Weekend, I’m going to take the opportunity to not have to get up so early on a Saturday morning and hammer out at least 7 individual Premier League match previews.

Therefore I’m going to to take liberty of rounding up all the F.A. Cup matches Today in more of a brief rundown, 5 matches taking place on Saturday while the remaining three matches across the course of the weekend I will cover in more depth. So without further ado, here is my F.A. Cup preview for Today

Burnley vs Lincoln City

Turf Moor has become Fort Knox for Burnley this season with their home form in the league being nothing short of remarkable. Today though they have to be careful that they are not the next team being added to Lincoln City’s already impressive list of cup scalps this season.

On the way to the 5th Round, non-league Lincoln have already disposed of both Ipswich and Brighton and will strongly believe that another cup upset could be in the wings this lunchtime as they look to become the first non-league outfit to reach the cup quarter finals.

Like most Premier League teams outside the top 6, the question will be as to how serious Burnley take this game in terms of their lineup. With top flight status almost secured thanks to their run of home results there is no real need for Sean Dyche to make wholesale changes and you would imagine it will be quite a strong lineup for the home side.

It would be too easy to start adding in the cliches about the magic and romance of the cup but if Lincoln could dispose of Burnley in a few hours then it would be a very memorable result in what has been arguably a lackluster edition of the tournament. I’m not going to make a prediction as who knows how this will go

Huddersfield vs Manchester City

It’s fair to say that the 5 matches on offer today do not conjour up the most interesting of ties but Manchester City travelling to Premier League promotion chasing Huddersfield later this Afternoon should make for something of an interesting story.

David Wagner’s side have impressed many so far this season as they currently find themselves third in The Championship and will look to make a late push for automatic promotion in the final part of the season. But league matters are parked to one side as they look to end Pep Guardiola’s first attempt at winning the competition.

Expect changes from City, one of them will be enforced what with Gabriel Jesus being out for at least two months with a broken metatarsal but whether Sergio Aguero is named in the starting lineup remains to be seen. This competition seems to be the preserve of Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho and the smart money would be on him spearheading the attack.

City come into this game off of a hard fought away at Bournemouth on Monday and you would imagine that if they are to win later Today then it will be the same kind of test if not perhaps tougher. Huddersfield will be without Aaron Mooy who is ineligible against his parent club. I reckon this will be a test for City but an away win in the end.

Middlesbrough vs Oxford United

Middlesbrough have struggled to score all season and have the unwanted record of being the Premier League’s lowest goalscorers. With that in mind it comes as a slight surprise that they have made it as far as the 5th Round of this competition.

Today they play host to an Oxford side which has already disposed of North-East opposition and will look to claim a second scalp from this area after easing past Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle in Round 4 and with Middlesbrough also having a Spanish manager that might not be a good omen.

Michael Appleton’s men will make the long trip to The Riverside Stadium with nothing to fear and not only that will fancy their chances of claiming another scalp what with ‘Boro’s aversion to finding the net this season. Should The U’s get in front then their chances of making the quarters will increase further.

But perhaps the cup will provide welcome relief for ‘Boro in what is beginning to look like a proper relegation battle this season, that is not to be unexpected but with a resurgence from the likes of Hull and Swansea their lack of goals is going to be a real concern. I think this could be the ‘upset’ of the day as Oxford will at least earn a replay.

Millwall vs Leicester

It’s hard to say which one is the underdog going into this match, Claudio Ranieri certainly thinks it is Leicester but then again perhaps he is just getting his excuses in early in case Millwall manage to dump out a third successive Premier League side in this competition.

Bournemouth and Watford have already come to The Den and failed and with Leicester looking to make 10 changes then there is no reason why Millwall’s list of scalps cannot continue. Add the fact that The Foxes have Champions League duty this week and you wonder where exactly this ranks in their list of priorities.

Also with Leicester nosediving towards the bottom three the extra games that an extended cup run might bring may well be to the detriment to their chances of survival. But on the flipside the winning habit of a cup run may well slip into league matters, so Ranieri has to weigh up whether domestic cup exploits will be worth the bother.

That’s not to say that Ranieri will be looking to throw the game by any means but I think Millwall may just take the decision out of his hands and make life difficult for the defending Premier League champions. I said Oxford may be the upset of the day but if Millwall do win, would it actually be considered that much of a shock?

Wolves vs Chelsea

The final of the five games Today in the F.A. Cup takes us to Molineux later this Evening as Wolves play host to runaway Premier League leaders Chelsea. Paul Lambert’s side have already traveled to Anfield in the previous round and disposed of Liverpool and will now look to claim another cup win in front of their own fans.

Wolves do not come into this game in the best of form though as they have lost their last three matches and have only scored once in that sequence of results. Therefore the fact that it’s cup action and not league matters will probably be a nice distraction for the Midlands side.

They are going to have to be at their best if they are to make life difficult for Chelsea later this Evening as Antonio Conte’s men will come into this game not only as heavy favourites but also with that Premier League momentum fully behind them.

Chelsea may have been held to a draw away at Burnley last Sunday but that could be viewed as a decent result especially with how Sean Dyche’s men have been playing at Turf Moor this season. But I can’t see two away slip ups in the space of the week. The Premier League leaders to move into the Quarter Finals for me.

So that concludes my condensed F.A. Cup roundup, it may be shorter but the quality is no less. Thanks for reading.