Chelsea for the cup?
Saturday 13th February
Cardiff are going well in the Championship and they currently sit in fourth place battling away for a play-off place. They are a decent side but a recent 5-1 defeat at Newcastle showed that they can fall apart when playing one of the top teams.
Let’s be fair, they don’t come much more ‘top team’ than Chelsea. I expect them to over-power Cardiff relatively easily and win at a canter.
SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
Derby have been struggling for a long while but recent home wins against Championship promotion chasers Nottingham Forest and Newcastle have raised spirits and confidence no end.
Birmingham continue to be the Premier League’s surprise team and they are a very difficult team to beat. I think they’ll have to defend for long periods at Derby, but they do that so well. They’ll nick a goal to win it and Derby will feel hard done by.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
One of only two all Premier League games in the fifth round.
Manchester City seem to have reverted to type after their initial surge under Roberto Mancini and have gone back to being the inconsistent team we all know and love.
Stoke continue to defy logic and look very comfortable in the top league with the big boys.
If this was at Stoke I would fancy them to go through, but at the City of Manchester Stadium I think Tevez and co will do just enough.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
An all Championship game here but one between two teams who are at opposite ends of the league. The two former Premier League teams have had vastly contrasting fortunes this season so far.
Reading are in the relegation zone and their FA Cup wins over Liverpool and Burnley have been rare highlights in a pretty bleak period.
West Brom are top of the Championship and look like continuing their yo-yo existence between that league and the Premiership.
Promotion and relegation issues will be more important to both sides than the Cup but neither side will want to go out at this stage.
I fancy Reading to continue to upset the odds.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
This derby game is one of the fiercest in the country. The two teams from next to each other on the South coast have a real hatred for each other. Off the pitch it is likely to be world war three and on it, don’t be surprised to see some hefty challenges.
Southampton have been in the financial mire in recent years and slumped to the lower end of League One. This season, under Alan Pardew and new owners who seem to have some money, they have been going well. Shrugging off a ten point penalty the young side sit comfortably in mid-table.
Portsmouth are in a mess that makes the one Southampton were in look like financial paradise. Potentially, with the winding-up order on the cards next week, this could be Portsmouth’s last ever game. I really hope it isn’t but it would be the cruellest of ironies if they went out of business after losing to their hated rivals. I don’t think they will.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-2
Sunday 14th February
An all Premier League clash that both clubs could probably do without.
Bolton are fighting a relegation battle and whilst the Cup is a distraction, they would probably prefer not to be distracted.
Tottenham are chasing fourth spot in the league and that will be Harry’s priority. Having said that, he would love to get back to Wembley. I think he will keep that dream alive in this one.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
Any team managed by Neil Warnock will give absolutely everything on the field of play. Palace were just outside the Championship play-offs when they were hit with a ten point penalty after going into administration which sent them plummeting down the league. They sold their star man, Moses, to Wigan, but Warnock and his men have rolled their sleeves up and got on with things. They are in good form.
Villa have fourth place in the league as their number one priority and they already have the Carling Cup final to look forward to. Whilst Martin O’Neill is someone who likes to win every game, this might not be high on his list.
These two are probably the most animated managers in English football and there will be as much action on the touchline as there is on the pitch!
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Fulham are mid-table in the Premier League and are a role model to small clubs everywhere to see that they can be run well and successful on the field.
Notts County are a league two side who tried to think big this season but it all backfired on them with the Sol Campbell transfer fiasco, three managers and Sven Goran Eriksson stepping down from any hands-on involvement. They have a new owner who has his feet firmly planted on the ground and they may be able to make some slow progress now rather than the pipe-dreams they had before.
County are in the play-off places in their league but I’m afraid any progress they make won’t be in this competition. They will give Fulham a fright but Roy Hodgson’s men will have too much class for them.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
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