Yeovil draw Manchester United in FA Cup fourth round as Tottenham travel to Newport
Two David versus Goliath ties headline the draw for the fourth round of the 2017-18 FA Cup.
- After knocking out Bradford, Yeovil Town - the lowest-ranked team left in the competition - draw Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup
- The Red Devils last visited Huish Park in January 2015, when goals from Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria sealed a 2-0 third-round victory
- Tottenham also travel to League Two opposition in the form of Newport County, who stunned Leeds at Rodney Parade
- Manchester City face either Cardiff or Mansfield, while Liverpool entertain West Brom in an all-Premier League affair at Anfield
- Chelsea will play host to Newcastle if they manage to see off Norwich in a replay
- Holders Arsenal absent from proceedings after suffering a shock defeat to Championship outfit Nottingham Forest on Sunday
- Fourth-round ties will be played on the weekend of 27-28 January
Not much reward for either Nottingham Forest or Coventry after their respective giant-killings, though Mansfield will be relishing the chance to face dominant Premier League leaders Manchester City if they can see off Cardiff in a home replay.
Peterborough will be hoping to meet Leicester rather than Fleetwood, while Notts County will be relatively pleased to be taking on either Wolves or Swansea.
A somewhat uninspiring draw saved by two plum home ties for League Two sides Yeovil and Newport against top-flight giants Manchester United and Tottenham respectively.
Spurs have won all four of their previous meetings against the reformed Welsh side, the last of which came all the way back in 1960.
4 - Nottingham Forest are the first team from a lower division to score 4+ goals against Arsenal in an #FACup tie since Hull City in January 1908. Thrashed.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 7, 2018
One rather unsavoury piece of FA Cup news today involved Leeds forward Samu Saiz accepting a six-game ban for spitting at Robbie Willmott during yesterday's surprise loss at Newport.
He's issued an apology that reads as follows...
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to the players, staff and supporters of Leeds United for my behaviour in yesterday's game at Newport County AFC.
I would also like to apologise to Newport County AFC and Robbie Willmott for my actions.
I accept the punishment handed to me by The FA.
My actions are inexcusable, I give my word to all those connected to Leeds United Football Club that I will learn from this situation and never repeat it.
I am grateful for the support I receive from our fans and I understand that I am a role model to the next generation of Leeds supporters, I will ensure that my behaviour moving forward reflects that.
We are back at the Ricoh Arena for @BBCSport’s coverage of tonight’s @EmiratesFACup draw.
— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) January 8, 2018
Watch out for @JackGrimmer and @J2Willis, Michael Doyle and some familiar faces from the past on @BBCTwo from 7pm! #PUSB pic.twitter.com/kSpqW2aje7
Think they mean M23, but nevertheless...
5ï¸âƒ£ things you may not know ahead of tonight's 'M25 Derby' 👊
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 8, 2018
👉 https://t.co/6ZEOxMNYQc pic.twitter.com/zMLZyywh4z
This was certainly one of the more amusing moments from the weekend's FA Cup action, courtesy of Forest hero Lichaj...
"My wife told me that if I score a hat-trick this year I get a dog, so I was trying to get the penalty..." 😂
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 7, 2018
Eric Lichaj scored what's sure to be one of the goals of the tournament, but you can't help but feel heartbroken for him with this revelation ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚ pic.twitter.com/z4ACTMRG3c
Here's the team news for that Monday night affair while we wait for the draw to get underway...
📠Here's how we line-up for this evening's @EmiratesFACup tie with @CPFC.#BHAFC ðŸ”µâšªï¸ pic.twitter.com/pjnfKYwRcW
— Brighton & Hove Albion âš½ï¸ (@OfficialBHAFC) January 8, 2018
Here's the line up for tonight's @EmiratesFACup third round tie against Brighton! pic.twitter.com/dgrUVqkyWM
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) January 8, 2018
Tonight's Brighton-Palace derby will be the first competitive English domestic fixture to trial the use of a video assistant referee (VAR).
You can read more about how it all works here.
First tie out in the rehearsal...😮😮😮 pic.twitter.com/IBJugcMZmJ
— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) January 8, 2018
17. Rochdale
18. Tottenham
19. Middlesbrough
20. Fleetwood or Leicester
21. Hull
22. Cardiff or Mansfield
23. Manchester City
24. Shrewsbury or West Ham
25. Wolves or Swansea
26. Stevenage or Reading
27. Newcastle
28. Millwall
29. Southampton
30. Preston
31. Norwich or Chelsea
32. Carlisle or Sheffield Wednesday
Here is the first batch of tonight's all-important fourth-round draw numbers. Who would you like to see your club paired against?
1. Sheffield United
2. Watford
3. Birmingham City
4. Liverpool
5. Brighton or Crystal Palace
6. Peterborough
7. Bournemouth or Wigan
8. Coventry
9. Newport County
10. Huddersfield
11. Yeovil
12. Nottingham Forest
13. Notts County
14. MK Dons
15. Manchester United
16. West Brom
While a succession of goalless draws hint that it may not have been a vintage weekend of FA Cup football in terms of sheer quality, a number of third round shocks - plus stronger team selection from several top-flight clubs - proved that perhaps we should resist the temptation to write off the old competition too soon.
Nottingham Forest claimed the biggest scalp of all on an electric Sunday afternoon clash at the City Ground, with a brace from Eric Lichaj and a pair of penalties ensuring that holders Arsenal suffered their first defeat at that stage of the competition since 1996.
The cup safety blanket has been well and truly removed from Arsene Wenger, who had never previously experienced a third-round defeat throughout his 22-year tenure in England.
League Two Coventry City's upset of Premier League strugglers Stoke contributed heavily to Mark Hughes finally losing his job, while Newport stunned Leeds, Peterborough scored three late goals to vanquish Aston Villa and Fleetwood and Shrewsbury earned replays away to Leicester and West Ham respectively.
Brentford also came unstuck against Notts County, MK Dons prolonged QPR's cup misery and Yeovil - the lowest-ranked team left in the hat - ensured that there would be no repeat of Bradford's cup heroics of 2015-16. Mansfield, Carlisle and Stevenage also deserve credit for earning replays against Championship teams.
The rest of the so-called big boys came through unscathed, with a dream debut goal from Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk sinking Everton in the 230th Merseyside derby and Manchester United eventually breaking down stubborn Derby thanks to efforts from Jesse Lingard and Romelu Lukaku.
Manchester City and Tottenham proved too strong for Burnley and AFC Wimbledon, though Chelsea's progression is not yet assured after they were held to a tedious draw at Norwich.
