The FA Cup fifth round gets underway in midweek with some exciting ties to look forward to, with the highlight fixture being the all-Premier League clash between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Monday 2 March
6/1 Portsmouth | Draw 38/10 | Arsenal 4/10 (21:45)
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners face League One side – and 2008 FA Cup winners – Portsmouth at Fratton Park in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday. The north Londoners are the record 13-time winners of the FA Cup, while Pompey are the lowest-ranked side remaining in the competition. Arsenal are tipped to make easy pickings of their opponents.
Tuesday 3 March
11/10 Chelsea | 26/10 | Liverpool 21/10 (21:45)
Liverpool will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday in what will be the standout tie of the FA Cup fifth round. The Reds are arguably the best team in world football at the moment, but they have much bigger fish to fry in the Premier League and Champions League. I expect Jurgen Klopp to field a team made up of first-team players who haven’t seen much action, alongside players looking to make the jump from the under-23 side into the first team squad. Frank Lampard is likely to field a second-string side too, but they’ll have more of a stronger side with the likes of Olivier Giroud, Pedro, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Emerson Palmieri and Kepa Arrizabalaga all likely to play. I know Liverpool’s price is tempting, but I see Chelsea winning this tie.
31/10 Reading | 49/20 | Sheffield United 17/20 (22:00)
Sheffield United travel to the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday to take on Championship side Reading. The last meeting be
tween the Royals and the Blades came in February 2019, where Chris Wilder’s side emerged victorious with a 4-0 drubbing at Bramall Lane. That was their fifth consecutive win over Reading in the Championship – three of those victories coming at the Madejski Stadium. Sheffield United are even stronger now and I fancy them to win this tie.
16/10 West Brom | 22/10 | Newcastle United 33/20 (22:00)
Newcastle can count themselves lucky to have avoided Premier League opposition for the third round in a row, but they’ll still be in for a stern test against promotion-chasing West Brom. The Baggies, now managed by former West Ham boss Slaven Bilic, are currently top of the Championship as they bid to return to the top flight after a two-year absence. The match against the Magpies will give them a taste of what to expect next season and the players will be eager to test themselves against the Premier League outfit. Steve Bruce’s men are in a slump and I’m backing West Brom to come out on top.
Wednesday 4 March
1/4 Leicester City | 47/10 | Birmingham City 19/2 (21:45)
Leicester City will face Birmingham City at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday night. The Foxes have endured a bit of a slump in recent weeks, getting dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Aston Villa and going three league games without a win, drawing against Chelsea and Wolves, before losing 1-0 at home to Manchester City. Brendan Rodgers’ side have won just two of their last eight games at home across all competitions, but they’ll fancy their chances of victory against a team languishing in the bottom half of the Championship table. Take the Double Chance and Total market and back the Home-Draw/Over 2.5 Goals at 11/20.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Manchester City (21:45)
Manchester City will be expected to breeze past Sheffield Wednesday to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Pep Guardiola’s men defeated fourth tier side Port Vale 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium in the third round, before beating Fulham 4-0 in their fourth-round tie on home soil. Take Over 2.5 Goals at 4/10.
9/20 Tottenham | 34/10 | Norwich City 5/1 (21:45)
Tottenham host Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday in an all-Premier League affair. Things aren’t looking good for Jose Mourinho’s side with long-term injuries to Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, while Dele Alli appears to be lacking form and confidence. Tottenham’s priority for the campaign is finishing in the top four and Mourinho is likely to field a second-string team in order to prevent further injuries. Norwich will want to take full advantage of that and the likes of Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell will look to cause them problems. I’m predicting a tight affair with the sides to cancel each other out in 90 minutes.
11/2 Derby County | 7/2 | Manchester United 9/20 (21:45)
Derby County will take on Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday. The clash will see United legend Wayne Rooney go up against his old club as Phillip Cocu’s men attempt an upset at Pride Park Stadium. The Rams managed to defy the odds and dump the Red Devils out of the Carabao Cup last season, but they haven’t been as good this term as they were under Lampard. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has fielded a strong line-up in every cup competition, so he should call upon Harry Maguire to nullify Rooney and Mason Greenwood and Odion Ighalo to produce the goods up front. The away win is tipped.
QUAD @ 7/1
Arsenal Win 4/10
Chelsea Win 11/10
Sheffield United Win 17/20
Leicester Win-Draw/Over 2.5 Goals 11/20
Chad Nagel
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