There is no Premier League this weekend with the fifth round of the FA Cup taking centre stage. Here is a look at the eight ties with predictions on who will reach the quarter-finals.
Burnley 2 Lincoln City 0
Non-league Lincoln, the National League leaders, have beaten two Championship sides to get to this stage but Burnley are a different proposition. Sean Dyche’s team look to be safe from Premier League relegation and he should field a full-strength XI. At home in the Premier League, they rarely concede and rarely lose. This will be the same.
Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield have been one of the surprise outfits in the Championship this season. They are only five points off top spot and have a manager — the German David Wagner — who seems destined for big things. They have the pace to trouble City. But the Premier League team’s class should shine through in the end.
Middlesbrough 1 Oxford United 0
League One Oxford beat a heavily changed Newcastle in the fourth round 3-0 to make it through to the last 16. The main thing that could halt Premier League Middlesbrough here is a lack of goals. They have only netted 19 in the league and the longer it stays goalless the more Oxford will believe they can grab a result. But Middlesbrough still should have enough to progress through.
Millwall 1 Leicester City 0
This is the game most likely to have an upset. Bournemouth and Watford both rested players against the League One side and paid the penalty as they were both deservedly beaten in the previous two rounds. Expect Claudio Ranieri to make major changes to his Leicester line-up with staying in the Premier League a major challenge. Leicester also have a trip to Sevilla in the Uefa Champions League in midweek and it is clear the FA Cup is not at the top of the Italian’s priorities, so this opens the door for Millwall to beat another top-flight side.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2
This is the most predictable result of the round. Do not expect Chelsea to score loads, but they will do enough to get through and avoid clogging up their fixture list with a replay. Wolves are struggling in the Championship and will struggle to breach Chelsea’s impressive defence.
Fulham 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Fulham have goals in them — 52 in the Championship this season — and will cause Tottenham a few problems. The big question here is how much Mauricio Pochettino rotates his side. It nearly cost him at home to League Two Wycombe Wanderers in the last round, with it taking two late goals to see them come from behind to prevail 4-3. If he gives players like Dele Alli and Harry Kane a break, this might end up going to a replay.
Blackburn Rovers 0 Manchester United 3
Blackburn were once a force in the Premier League, winning it in 1995 most notably. But those days seem an age ago now and the current line-up is in the relegation zone in the Championship. United manager Jose Mourinho may well rotate his squad, but you could see a forward three of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard being used, which will be too much pace for their opponents to handle.
Sutton United 0 Arsenal 2
Sutton play in the fifth-tier of English football and should pose no problem for Arsenal. Sutton famously beat top-flight opposition in 1989 when they dispatched Coventry City, and they showed they can still be a force at their Gander Green Lane ground when they beat Championship promotion contenders Leeds United last month in the fourth round. But Arsene Wenger has plenty of depth in his Arsenal squad, even if he does rotate. Danny Welbeck will play up front and should find the net.
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