FA Cup Third Round [2016]

It's that time of year again when all the teams around the country are pulled together into one competition to form some of the best entertainment a football fan can find. This is the competition where form doesn't come into consideration and even the least likely winners can come forward. And so, as the Premier League and Championship teams joined in, the fun commenced...

The first game of the weekend saw League Two Exeter City face Premier League Liverpool at their home ground, and it was a game that Liverpool would be expected to win. However, it wasn't quite the game many expected. Exeter gave Liverpool a very tough time in the game and two goals from Tom Nichols and a brilliant one scored from a corner by Lee Holmes on either side of a goal by Jerome Sinclair put some real pressure Jurgen Klopp's side. 

Brad Smith managed to pull one back for Liverpool to earn a replay, but the outcome could have been very different if Exeter had managed to convert some of their chances when they were 2-1 up. 

Tom Nichols applauding the fans after his great performance against Liverpool
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35155398

The shock of the round actually happened today though. Oxford United of League Two welcomed Swansea City and the away side seemed to get off to a brilliant start as a superb goal from Jefferson Montero took them into the lead. Oxford rallied brilliantly though. A debatable penalty was awarded and scored by the home side on the stroke of half time and switched into another gear when they came out for the second half. 

Kemar Roofe was the player to truly rub the salt into Swansea's wounds as he scored two wonderful goals and gave his team some breathing space. Bafetimbi Gomis did pull one back for Swansea, but it was a little too late meaning that they exited the competition. 

Oxford players celebrate a brilliant win against Swansea City
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35216450

Cardiff City were another team that were beaten by a lower league team and had to exit the competition. Andy Mangan of Shrewsbury Town headed the visitors into the lead on the hour mark and the League One side held onto their lead as Cardiff wasted many chances that could possibly have earned them a replay. 

It wasn't the exit to a lower league side that would have been embarrassing for Cardiff, but the fact that less than 5,000 people attended the game in total to watch the game. So all-in-all, not a great day for the home side. 

There was a lot of late drama in the game between Tottenham and Leicester. Christian Eriksen drew first blood early in the first half after the keeper parried Nacer Chadli's shot back into the penalty, but Leicester soon fought back. Marcin Wasilewski and Shinji Okazaki pulled the game back for the away side and Spurs were handed a lifeline. 

The ball hit Nathan Dyer's hand in the penalty area as he tried to tackle Danny Rose and the ref awarded a penalty which Harry Kane converted to earn the replay. However, it is debatable as to whether it was actually a penalty or not as the handball didn't seem deliberate, but I'm sure the Spurs team will be happy they get another chance to get to the fourth round. 

Harry Kane converts a late penalty to earn Spurs a replay at the King Power Stadium
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/fa-cup-third-round-live-oxford-vs-swansea-chelsea-vs-scunthorpe-and-tottenham-vs-leicester-city-a6804636.html

For West Bromwich Albion, it was almost a shock exit as well. They took the lead halfway through the second half through Saido Berahino, but Bristol City managed to flip the game in their favour when Jonathan Kodija scored from close range and minutes later Kieran Agard added a second. 

It looked like they might just come away with the win, until James Morrison pulled a goal back in the dying minutes of added time in the second half to earn his team a replay and stop any celebrations from the Bristol City faithful.

There were, of course, the results that everybody expected in this round. Manchester City played well away against Norwich and Sergio Aguero started off the flurry of goals in the 3-0 result. 

Last season's winners Arsenal also pulled together to win 3-1 after they went behind to a Jeremain Lens goal for Sunderland. 

Chelsea didn't have the smoothest of games, but they still managed to overcome Scunthorpe with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Manchester United were another team that struggled against lower league opposition as Sheffield United put on a brilliant and resilient defensive display at Old Trafford. However, the visitors suffered heartbreak in the third minute of added time as a penalty was given away and converted by Wayne Rooney. 

And so comes the end to another FA Cup weekend. The replays will be played in just over a week and it will be interesting to see if any teams who almost pulled off a great shock in this round will be able to finish off what they almost started. For the fans of those teams that did make it through to the next round, the draw will happen tomorrow and the next round of predictions about possible upsets will make their appearance pretty soon after. 

The only question left is whether or not any of the underdogs will cause the upsets so many fans crave during that round. 

Transfer Overload?

So, as the transfer window in Britain came to a close yesterday, a few big stories made their way onto the back pages. There was of course, the carry-ons of the big stories that have been circulating around the footballing world for the past two or three months, and then some surprises that the fans weren't expecting. The fans were expecting something from their clubs on this day though as they always are. 

The biggest transfer story over Monday and Tuesday was the collapse of a deal between Manchester United and Real Madrid. This is a deal that has been in the news since about January, sometimes in glaringly obvious articles and other times just subtle hints as people guessed what would happen on the market. This was one of the deals that everyone expected to happen, including the United fans who genuinely thought they would see their keeper leave in this window. If that was the case, it seems to be a mystery that Real didn't make a bid that would make United happy earlier in the window instead of leaving it so late. By Monday night, it looked like people would be waking up to see David de Gea standing in Madrid with his new shirt in hand telling everyone how happy he is to see the deal happen. Only that wasn't the case. Both clubs are pointing the finger at each other when asked who was late with the paper work, so it doesn't look like there will be actual answers any time soon. To add to all of this, it is now said he is thinking about signing a contract extension and will be reintegrated into the team. I don't think you'll ever see an opinion change as quickly as that for a long time again...

Then of course there was the constantly rejected bids from both Chelsea and Tottenham for John Stones and Saido Berahino respectively. Everton dealt really well with the advances from Chelsea and turned down all of the bids with seemingly easy decisions. There was some confusion at one point when Stones handed in a transfer request that wasn't a transfer request, but the news quickly blew over and he still seems to be an important player for him team as they move forward. 

Berahino was another story. Now, I've been told that we shouldn't judge him too harshly due to a rough childhood and that he should be better protected by his agent instead of being allowed free reign when it comes to social media and the press. He obviously isn't happy at West Brom, as he has made clear in the not so distant past, and he wants to move onto "bigger things". However, there is probably a right way to do it, and many people would agree that it is not by sending out a rash tweet while you're angry stating you never wants to play for them again. He's been given time off (most likely to think about what he's said and cool down a little bit) but it'll be interesting to see what comes of him in the next few weeks. 

There obviously were deals that actually happened that got the fans excited, and not just sat staring at their phones and TV screens to see how the drama played out. Watford had a lot of new players come into the squad (15!), not big name signings, but players that show a lot of potential to shine for their team if they can get them to gel properly. Stoke was another team to add a lot of names to their squad list, including the good signing of Xherdan Shaqiri who got his first game for them recently. Again, if they can get the team to gel, they look like they might be in with a good chance of pushing for a top table finish. 

Then, there was the big spenders at Manchester City. Over the recent seasons, they have been known to splash their cash on some great quality players, and this season looks to be no different. Raheem Sterling was another well talked about transfer in the lead up to the window, and City pulled together the deal really quickly so they would have him ready for their pre-season. He seems to have settled in really well, and got his first goal for the club recently, and has already forged a partnership with David Silva that looks very dangerous. Then there was the other big money signing of Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg a couple of days before deadline day. He was another player with a lot of speculation surrounding him, and it seems the club pulled through. On top of that, they managed to snatch the deal of Nicolas Otamendi who looked on his way to their city rivals and Fabian Delph. After an already sparkling start to the season and a strong intake of players, it looks like City could be on their way to another brilliant season. 

Speaking of Fabian Delph, in some ways it looked like Aston Villa might struggle after some of the players they lost. Delph was the captain last season and they also lost Christian Benteke to Liverpool; two of their best players leaving early on in the window. However, Tim Sherwood did some good business to rest his fans at ease. He strengthened the defence, firstly by bringing in Micah Richards at the beginning of the window and on deadline day, adding Joleon Lescott as well. It was a signing up front though that proved to be worth it. Rudy Gestede coming in from Blackburn looks like he might just be able to fit into the space that Benteke vacated. On his debut, he managed to lead Villa to a win, and if he stays fit and can find a constant rhythm in his form, it looks like he will be in for a good season. 

Swansea were another team that made a great signing when it came to the forward position. Andre Ayew, a free transfer, has already scored in three of his first four appearances which isn't a particularly easy thing to do, but it proves to be even more impressive when you realise that two of those appearances were against Manchester United and last season's champions Chelsea. There are of course other players brought in by Gary Monk, but Ayew has certainly got that star quality that not a lot of people would have expected from him. So far though, he has been brilliant and if he pulls more performances like that one out of the bag, then a lot of football fans will be clamouring to watch him. 

As last season's champions, a lot of people expected Chelsea to bring in some reinforcements for an already brilliant squad. Last season they looked almost unstoppable, and although many fans expected them to start right where they left off, it doesn't seem to have quite happened like that. A stand out from his debut for them was Pedro who they brought in from Barcelona, and having scored on his debut in a match that Chelsea won (not as comfortably as they thought they would in the end though), it looked like they might have just found another quality player to help them with the goals this season. They also brought in Radamel Falcao, who scored his first goal for them at the weekend, so their attacking options are looking particularly strong. They maybe could have done with another defender being brought in. Even though they were solid last season, it doesn't look to be the same this time out. They tried and failed to secure Stones, but maybe with the power and confidence of their forward players, their defence will get back up to the expected heights. 

Manchester United saw a host of new players come into the club, but it was the long list of players that left the club that had people talking about that as much as the de Gea saga. The British record transfer signing Angel di Maria had insisted that he would be staying at the club instead of leaving after a relatively lacklustre first season at the club. However, it all seems to have been an empty promise as he left for Paris Saint Germain pretty early on in the transfer market. The United fans also saw two of their strikers leave in Robin van Persie for Fenerbache and fan favourite Javier Hernandez for Bayer Leverkusen. It seems that Hernandez especially struggled to earn a place under Louis van Gaal after he was also loaned out to Real Madrid last season. Van Gaal also chose to send Adnan Januzaj out on loan to Borussia Dortmund after assuring fans he wouldn't be leaving the club, but he will be back next summer as there is no option to buy at the end of the deal. So, van Gaal is clearly marking United as his own as he works to building his perfect side that could win the title. The list of departing players is more than likely to carry on growing though as time goes on. 

Arsenal always seem to leave their big money signings until the last minute, leaving their fans guessing up until the dying moments. Sometimes it looks like there might be nothing happening before the news filters through that a big name player or one with a lot of potential has turned up at their training ground or is heading to his medical; kind of like the deals of Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck. This year though, something felt different. They brought in Petr Cech very early in the season, who is a great keeper and looked like he would give the solidarity at the back (first match aside that is). While Arsenal fans waited as the minutes counted down to the deadline, nothing else was happening and when it closed, they only had one new name on their team sheet. There was of course rumours about Karim Benzema and Edison Cavani possibly putting pen to paper, but the rumours fizzled out pretty quickly. Arsene Wenger is clearly happy with the squad he has though, and it will be good to see if his belief in them truly pays off. 

I feel like there is so much here that I haven't had chance to comment on, but the amount of players moving between clubs is too much to keep up with, coupled with the amount of rumours flying around. It looks like some fans are still unhappy with the signings not made at their clubs though, depending on whether or not that marquee signing did or didn't show up at their training ground. And with another record breaking spending (£870million!) it looks like the transfer market is growing ever bigger as the years go back. Now though, the stress is over and the fans can relax and finally enjoy the football with the knowledge that their favourite player is still going to be wearing that team's kit as the weeks go by. 

Premier League Review: 11-15

Newcastle United - 15th (39 points) 

It's a season that Newcastle fans will be wanting to forget in a hurry. They suffered a horrendous start to the campaign after failing to win in August and September. Their first win came midway through October after they faced Leicester. This game marked the start of a brilliant turn around by Alan Pardew to set Newcastle on a 5 match winning streak.

Things got even better following this when the team became the first to inflict defeat on Chelsea in all competitions when they recorded a 2-1 victory at St James' Park, but then at the end of the month, Pardew saw himself facing the exit door. His tenure ended in a 3-2 win over Everton when he left to become the Crystal Palace boss. This was definitely a turning point in their season.

Fans had been calling for Pardew to get sacked for a long time, but they could never have anticipated just how bad things would get under the leadership of his successor, John Carver. Newcastle were in ninth upon Pardew's departure and Carver took a few matches to get in his stride and eventually got his first win against Hull, but struggled to get any consistency going. They embarked on a terrible run of 8 consecutive defeats from March onwards. This marked their worst run in the Premier League history and the worst by any club this season.

Possibly the lowest moment in their season was the 3-0 defeat to Leicester. Daryl Janmaat and Mike Williamson were both sent off, and the latter was accused of deliberately getting a red by Carver. They did scrape a point against West Brom but followed this up with defeat to QPR which left them in an extremely dangerous position going into the last weekend. 

The situation pushed Newcastle into playing possibly the best game of their season. They needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and did it in emphatic style. The game ended in a 2-0 win, which included a goal from recent cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez on his final game for the club. The fans will be hoping this isn't going to become a regular position for them in the table and that they can go onto better things in the next campaign. 

Leicester City - 14th (41 points)

Arguably, Leicester's successful survival mission was the story of the season. Their first month in the Premier League would never have suggested that they would have been in trouble. They recorded two great draws against Everton and Arsenal and an extremely memorable 5-3 win against Manchester United at the King Power stadium. 

For them, the international break came at the wrong time. Following the United game, Nigel Pearson's side went on a dismal run of 13 games without a win which left them down at the bottom of the table with very little hope. They picked up their first win after this against Hull City and a lot of people thought they were finally getting what some of their previous performances had deserved. It looked as if the ship had steadied when they won four of their first six games after Christmas. This included a brilliant comeback against Spurs in an FA Cup tie, where it took two late strikes from Leonardo Ulloa and Jeffrey Schlupp to secure their progress to the next round. 

However, it was around this time that Pearson landed himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He got a lot of attention after footage of him grabbing James McArthur around the neck and reports emerged stating that he'd been sacked. These claims were quickly retracted though, but it still looked to have affected the team. Leicester failed to win their next 6 games which left them 7 points adrift of safety and to many people they looked like they would be the first team relegated.

Then the miracle happened. A late 2-1 win at him to West Ham ended a run of 8 games without a win, which they followed up with a 3-2 triumph over West Brom; sealed through an injury time winner. The manager found himself in the headlines again after losing his temper with a journalist following the Chelsea game, but this was soon forgotten. They recorded impressive victories over Newcastle and Southampton before rounding off the season with an astonishing 5-1 win over already relegated QPR. If the end of the season is anything to go by, next season will be promising for them.

West Bromwich Albion - 13th (44 points)

West Brom eventually finished the season with little problems and without being dragged into a relegation battle after Tony Pulis steadied the ship. 

At the end of the previous season after Pepe Mel left the club, Alan Irvine was his surprise replacement. He didn't have the greatest start with the team, and it took them a few weeks to pick up their first win of the season against Spurs, which they followed with a big victory over Burnley. Consistency was a problem for them though, and they only picked up another 2 wins between then and January. At this point, they were just one point above the drop, with a lot of terrible statistics trailing closely behind them.

With the turn of the New Year, came their turn of fortune. Pulis completely flipped around the club and took a very different approach to Irvine. He put in place a more defensive outlook which saw his team lose only 6 league games in the second half of the season.

He also led the team to some incredibly good wins against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea towards the end of the season. He also brought the best out of Saido Berahino who hit double figures in his goal tally and helped his team claim some very important points.

The fans will be looking forward to next season now they've had a taste of what Pulis can do for their team. Even though their campaign finished in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, they'll have confidence to push on into the beginning of next season. 

West Ham United - 12th (47 points)

Sam Allardyce was one of the early picks to be the first manager sacked at the beginning of the season, but he went on to prove a lot of his critics wrong. In an attempt to appease the owners who wanted a more free-flowing style of football, he brought in Teddy Sheringham to help with the attacking side of things. 

West Ham had a particularly good start to the season. After losing their first game, they went on to pick up a lot of important points including beating Liverpool 3-1 and Manchester City 2-1 at home. 

Due to a lot of the teams that fans expect to see at the table not playing as well as previous seasons, West Ham took full advantage. On Christmas Day, West Ham were sitting in fourth place, and were looking extremely strong. 

However, Boxing Day was the big turning point in their season. They lost to both Chelsea and Arsenal before drawing with West Brom on New Year's Day. But this was just the beginning of their nose-dive in form. The players like Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, Alex Song and Stewart Downing who had helped their team to this point all failed to replicate their stunning form from the first half of the season. 

Although they were collecting less points, their defensive record was still impressive. They conceded fewer goals than in the last two seasons, and their disciplinary record was so good that it earned them a place in the qualifiers of next season's Europa League. Neither of these things took away from the fact that performances were dwindling though. If the season had begun on Boxing Day, West Ham would have been sitting in 17th position come the final day. Their season finished in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle and this proved to be the final nail in Allardyce's managerial coffin at West Ham as he lost his job at the end of the season. 

Everton - 11th (47 points)

Last season showed so much promise for the blue side of Liverpool, but in the end, it couldn't have ended worse for them. 

After finishing fifth and adding the talents of Romelu Lukaku to their squad, it looked like they would push onto even better things this season. However, they only won one of their first seven games, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of their season. Many of their fans expected them to be challenging for Champions League this term, so this kind of run was definitely unexpected. Things didn't look up for them in the league any time soon and one of their defeats was a heavy blow dealt by Chelsea which gave no one hope.

Even the darkest of moments include some good times though. For Everton, this was in the Europa League. They beat Wolfsburg both home and away and Lille at Goodison which helped them to secure the top spot in their group.

Even after these great performances, Everton still struggled domestically, especially over the festive period. They only put together to wins throughout December and January, but even then their European form continued to impress. On their return to Europe, they beat Young Boys 7-2 on aggregate to reach the last 16. The next leg of the competition looked good for them as they beat Dynamo Kiev at home 2-1, but the return leg was disastrous. The bright spark of their campaign came to an end through a 5-2 loss. 

Their exit from the Europa League allowed them to put all of their focus into the league. 4 wins from 5 matches, including a very good performance against Manchester United to win 3-0, soon took away the relegation worries of the fans and helped them to climb up to mid-table by the end of the season. Without the added pressure of the Europa League next season, Everton may mount more of a challenge if they can sort out their consistency problems. 

FA Cup Quarter Finals [2015]

The final ties in the FA Cup are ultimately the most important. Four teams can show their worth and get the chance to play in the biggest stadium in England, at Wembley. There were some great ties on show this weekend, but would they produce the performances and the results that would turn the eyes of fans across the country?

The weekend started off with a game between the dark horses of the competition, Bradford, against Championship side Reading. Both teams showed a lot of commitment and character within the game, as would be expected with a prize like a semi-final at Wembley at stake. Bradford were definitely the brighter of the two sides and almost clinched a winner through Oliver Norwood with only a few minutes left on the clock, but it just wasn't meant to be. The affair was quite scrappy in the beginning, but the League 1 side were certainly ready for a tie like this. Both sides had some good chances that they just couldn't make the most of, earning them a replay at Reading, and a chance for both teams to make history. End score: 0-0.

Saturday evening saw a Midlands derby take place between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion. The sides met earlier in the week in a Premier League tie, and this saw Villa battle to a 2-1 win. This game started slow and took a while for both sides to grow into. The passing was quite sloppy and there was no cutting ball when it got into the final third. West Brom did have a couple of good chances, one from Brown Ideye and the other from Joleon Lescott. They didn't get the opener they desperately chased, and instead Fabian Delph took the opportunity he was presented with to put Villa ahead just into the second half. Scott Sinclair doubled the lead for Villa 5 minutes from time and put the tie beyond the opposition. Both teams finished the game on 10 men as the game finished extremely scrappily. Claudio Yacob saw red for what looked like a two footed stamp on a Villa player. Teenager Jack Grealish saw got his second yellow for what the referee judged to be a dive, but this red card didn't affect the result of the game. End score: 2-0.

Liverpool hosted Blackburn in the only kick off on Sunday. Blackburn kept up a spirited performance throughout the game, keeping a good shape and having some of the best chances throughout the first half, especially through Rudy Gestede. The game started in the worst possible way for Liverpool as Martin Skrtel hit the ground and was out cold for about 5 minutes, he was eventually was stretchered off the field, but not before giving a thumbs up to the surrounding crowd to show he was okay. Kolo Toure, his replacement, had one of the best chances of the game as he saw his header rattle the post but not hit the back of the net like he had hoped. Blackburn did well for themselves though, with Gestede proving to be too much to handle in many cases, but the Liverpool defence managed to keep him out. The replay between the two will hopefully prove to be another tight encounter. End score: 0-0.

Easily the tie of the round was between Manchester United and Arsenal. Both sides were quite sloppy in possession throughout the game, but some good sets of play were put together to create some chances. Arsenal did well to push forward as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ran at the United defence and took three players out of the game, leaving Nacho Monreal in lots of space in the box to calmly slot the ball past David de Gea who was coming out to close him down. The lead only lasted 4 minutes though, as United pushed forward and got Angel Di Maria on the ball. His inch perfect cross was met by the head of Wayne Rooney whose shot was too fast for Wojciech Szczesny to get his hand to. It was a feisty affair, not short of passion as would be expected in a game between these two sides, and it took a poor back pass from Antonio Valencia to present former Manchester United player, Danny Welbeck, with a chance to round off the game. This wasn't the end of the tale though, as Di Maria was later booked for simulation and in a moment of madness tugged on the referee's shirt, resulting in a red card being produced seconds after his booking. This set Arsenal on their way to their second FA Cup semi-final in the same amount of seasons after a brilliant contest between the two. End score: 1-2.  

Two replays still to go ahead after four of the teams failed to score on their first try. Both were good contests the first time round, so who knowswhat will happen and who will be facing the two Premier League clubs at Wembley soon. Only time will tell I guess...

FA Cup Fifth Round [2015]

The fixture list for this weekend of FA Cup action doesn't look nearly as exciting as the last one. It also probably won't have as many results as exciting as the last round. Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Swansea were all dumped out of the competition; three by lower league teams. The surprises from the last weekend don't look like they will be repeating themselves this time out, but there are still three of the big boys in the competition, including the holders, that clubs are just waiting to shock.

The weekend started with an all Premier League tie, a 4-0 thrashing and a red card for fighting. If this is anything to go by, it looked like it was going to be a good weekend of football. West Brom looked to be in control from the beginning and didn't leave time for anyone to doubt them as they went in at the break 2-0. Although West Ham did have chances to try and get a foothold, possibly even a goal in the game, they just couldn't manage it. West Brom got their third just before the hour mark and this did prove to be the final hit for West Ham. The red card did come for the West Ham substitute, Morgan Amalfitano. Ten minutes after he was introduced into the game, he got booked for hacking down Chris Brunt and then seconds later pushed Brunt away by the face right in front of the referee, giving him no choice but to produce a red card. The final goal was scored minutes after this, sending West Brom comfortably into the quarter final. 

Derby County played host to Reading in an all Championship tie and it looked like it would be a good game. Towards the end of the first half, Derby had Stephen Warnock sent off for his second booking, possibly making the game slightly more difficult for themselves. It did take Reading until the second half to capitalise on this, but even then, their lead didn't even last 10 minutes. Both sides wanted the winner in this game, but the sides were pretty level, which could have sent them towards the first replay of the weekend. Then, finally, 8 minutes from full time, Reading finally managed to get the winning goal. Yakubu had only been on the field 10 minutes before he directed his shot into the back of the net, leaving Derby to bow gracefully out of the competition. End score: 1-2

Looks like there were a lot more surprises on the way. Blackburn Rovers hosted Stoke City and the game looked to going well for the Premier League side. The visitors were leading within ten minutes and a lot of people thought that would be it. Blackburn had other ideas though; namely Joshua King. The forward scored a hat-trick in the match, effectively ending Stoke's cup run all on his own, but that isn't the full story. He got the first goal, and played a big part in the second. Stoke had Geoff Cameron sent off deep into first half stoppage time after he pulled back King in the penalty area, leading Blackburn to convert the penalty and take the lead in the game. Stoke were up against it in the second half, but Blackburn easily dispatched the 10 men as King finished off his hat-trick. End score: 4-1

Two Premier League sides down this weekend already, will there be anymore to follow?

The final kick off on Saturday saw Crystal Palace face Liverpool, who have struggled in recent visits to Selhurst Park. That run looked like it would be continuing as well when Palace took the lead 15 minutes into the game. Liverpool could do nothing to break down the Palace defence in the remaining time in the half, but the second half looked to be a turning point for them. They got a goal in the opening moments of the half, which looked to build their confidence and also give them the boost that they needed. Not long after, they got their second and this proved to be too much for Palace. Liverpool had very much been in control from the beginning of the game, and now had the result to match their game. End score: 1-2

Aston Villa against Leicester proved to be a very dull start for the games on Sunday. The first half was slow, hardly any chances were created and the players just looked like they would rather be anywhere but on that field. Leicester did have the better chances of the half, forcing Shay Given to pull off some great saves to stop them from getting the breakthrough. Tim Sherwood gave his first half time team talk at Villa and sparked some much needed life into his team. Although the beginning of the second half was slow, Villa did find the breakthrough they needed on 70 minutes after pushing forward for most of the half. Given was still pulling off superb saves which ultimately allowed Villa to take the lead. They got their second through substitute Scott Sinclair not long before full time and he looked to have put Villa through to the quarter finals. However, Leicester weren't giving up yet and got a consolation goal in added time, but couldn't find another to take them through for a replay. 

Next up came Bradford City, Chelsea's downfall, who hosted Sunderland. Sunderland didn't make it easy for themselves either. Within the first 5 minutes, they were already behind and it had come through an own goal. If this didn't already look a big test after the last round, it was certainly beginning to look difficult for them now. None of the Sunderland players had a particularly good game and they were only making it easier for Bradford to get their foothold in the game. Just after the hour mark, Bradford got their second, and winning, goal in the match, which was ultimately the thing that finished off Sunderland and the game. Yet another Premier League side out to Bradford! Surely, they're looking forward to see who else comes out of the pot in the draw tomorrow night. End score: 2-0

They would probably fancy their chances against the holders Arsenal if you asked them. They welcomed Middlesbrough to the Emirates who dispatched of Manchester City in the previous round. It was a game that Arsenal looked comfortable in from kick off, and to the viewer, it looked like there could only be one result. Middlesbrough were finished off within two minutes on the half an hour mark by Olivier Giroud through two very well taken, clever goals. It was a game plan that was well worked for Arsenal and proved to be too difficult for the opposition to handle. In the end, an easy game for the holders who once again see their name go back into the draw. End score: 2-0

Now all that's left of the weekend is the game between Preston North End and Manchester United tomorrow night which is played right before the draw. Preston are doing well in the league and could prove to be worthy opponents for the side currently sitting third in the Premier League. Will there be one more surprise left in the cup this weekend? I guess only time will tell...