FA Cup draw: Arsenal get another third-tier opponent, Man City vs Newcastle in the tie of the round

The fourth round of the FA Cup passed with only minimal surprises. In fact, Burnley were the only Premier League club eliminated at this stage. In fact, Burnley were the only Premier League club eliminated at this stage. All the others justified their status as favourites and went through, with the last of them being Brentford, who, with a fair amount of luck, beat sixth-tier Macclesfield away from home – 1:0 (0:0).

The decisive moment came midway through the second half, when the home side’s centre-back Sam Heathcote, trying to clear Aaron Hickey’s cross, slammed the ball into the near corner of his own goal and ended Brentford’s struggles.

Just four days earlier, the London club had held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a draw in the league. By then, Brentford already knew their potential next opponent, as the draw for the round of 16 had been held less than an hour before kick-off and produced several interesting ties.

The most successful club in the competition, Arsenal, got the easiest task and will face a third-tier side for the second round in a row. In the fourth round they hosted Wigan, and in the fifth they will travel to Mansfield, who caused a sensation on Saturday by knocking out Premier League Burnley away from home.

Without any doubt, the most attractive tie is Newcastle vs Manchester City. The two teams already met in the League Cup semi-finals, and across all competitions this will be their fifth meeting of the season, and the fourth in the space of two months, since they will also meet again in the league this weekend and already played twice in January.

Champions Liverpool will visit bottom-of-the-table Premier League side Wolverhampton, while Chelsea will face another Championship club, Wrexham (who previously knocked out Hull). Leeds will host Norwich, Fulham will be at home to Southampton, and the small London derby between West Ham and Brentford could also be interesting.

Sunderland are the only team still waiting for an opponent, as the match between Port Vale and Bristol City, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. The round of 16 matches will be played on March 7.

FA Cup Round of 16 (Fifth Round) Draw:

Fulham – Southampton

Port Vale/Bristol City – Sunderland

Newcastle – Manchester City

Leeds – Norwich

Mansfield – Arsenal

Wolverhampton – Liverpool

Wrexham – Chelsea

West Ham – Brentford