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After a frantic restart to the English Premier League, this weekend shifts to the FA Cup.
And that’s strange. The cliche, “the magic of the FA Cup” has been around forever. With good reason, the history of Europe’s oldest cup competition is littered with stunning moments. But the stakes of the Premier League, staying out of the relegation zone, getting into the top four and the accompanying Champions League riches have all meant the FA Cup has become secondary.
It’s a wild concept, there are clubs like Everton and Newcastle, even Tottenham, who have massive fan support but haven’t won trophies for decades. The spectre of making a final and having that day at Wembley are memories that last a lifetime.
Yet Premier League survival, or those riches of the top four, always take precedence.
The FA Cup is unseeded, as such you have several Premier League teams facing each other this weekend, while you also have matches between Boreham Wood and Accrington Stanley or Grimsby vs. Burton.
Manchester City face Chelsea just three days after meeting each other in the Premier League.
The round kicks off with a huge game Friday between Manchester United and Everton. You’d expect this to be a massive game for Everton, this would represent their only chance to end their 27-year drought for silverware. But they are desperate for breathing room in the league table sitting just above the relegation zone and as such you can see them playing several youngsters or prospects and not risking their top players with an eye on the fight to stay up.
The pressure is mounting on manager Frank Lampard and a heavy defeat might be enough to cost him his job. United on the other hand could really lighten the mood with a trophy, even the FA Cup, but this year’s Premier League is chaotic at the top with Arsenal and Manchester City likely cemented in the top two spots and at this point fairly secure in their Champions League qualification for next season.
But those remaining two spots are going to be contested like never before with Newcastle, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea desperate to qualify, with Fulham, Brighton and even Brentford in shouting distance of a shock inclusion.
That gives managers selection headaches this weekend. Do you rest your stars, who will face unprecedented demand in this season with a World Cup jammed in the middle of it? Or do you look at this as a chance to gain some glory?
Liverpool, who won the competition last season, can’t get their act together and yet they face a Premier League foe in Wolves who themselves are in the relegation fight. You can expect Liverpool to give pricey new signing, Dutch World Cup star Cody Gakpo, a debut to get him up to speed, but other than that, you should expect manager Jurgen Klopp to pepper the lineup with plenty of kids.
Other matchups, like Crystal Palace vs. Southampton, Brentford vs. West Ham serve up the same storylines, great opportunities for Palace and Brentford to seriously go for silverware versus two teams, Southampton and West Ham who are desperately trying to drag themselves out of the mud at the bottom of the table so they’ll likely keep their key players wrapped in cotton wool.
FRIDAY: Manchester United v. Everton.
SATURDAY: Crystal Palace v. Southampton; Forest Green Rovers v. Birmingham; Gillingham v. Leicester; Preston North End
v. Huddersfield; Reading v. Watford; Tottenham Hotspur v. Portsmouth; Blackpool v. Nottingham Forest; Boreham Wood v. Accrington Stanley; Bournemouth v. Burnley; Chesterfield v. West Bromwich Albion; Fleetwood Town v. Queens Park Rangers; Hull v. Fulham; Ipswich v. Rotherham; Middlesbrough v. Brighton; Millwall v. Sheffield United; Shrewsbury v. Sunderland; Brentford v. West Ham; Coventry v. Wrexham; Grimsby v. Burton; Luton v. Wigan; Sheffield Wednesday v. Newcastle; Liverpool v. Wolves.
SUNDAY: Bristol City v. Swansea; Derby v. Barnsley; Cardiff v. Leeds; Hartlepool v. Stoke; Norwich v. Blackburn; Stockport v. Walsall; Aston Villa v. Stevenage; Manchester City v. Chelsea.
MONDAY: Oxford v. Arsenal.
Serie A
Inter Milan gave us quite the gift as Serie A got back underway last week, handing Napoli their first loss of the season. It’s still Napoli’s to lose as they have a five-point bulge on second-place AC Milan, but at least there’s hope for the other teams now.
The neophytes from Naples should get back on track this weekend against 18th-placed Sampdoria, but AC Milan has to keep up their end of the bargain with a tough match hosting Jose Mourinho’s 5th-placed Roma who are just three points out of the Top Four.
Juventus against Udinese also looks tasty as it’s third-place versus eighth. Udinese started so well but haven’t won in their last five, four draws and a loss, but if they can regain even a little of their early-season form it should be a great match.
SATURDAY: Fiorentina v. Sassuolo; Juventus v. Udinese; Monza v. Inter Milan.
SUNDAY: Salernitana v. Torino; Lazio v. Empoli; Spezia v. Lecce; Sampdoria v. Napoli; AC Milan v. Roma.
MONDAY: Hellas Verona v. Cremonese; Bologna v. Atalanta.
La Liga
The Spanish league also drew tighter in their return, with Barcelona only managing a draw and Real Madrid winning to draw level on points. Barca are still in first place down to goal difference, and have still only given up a measly six goals in 15 games. They have a tricky fixture this weekend going to Atletico who have clawed back to fourth place. But Barca are going to need their stout defensive record to continue as they are facing the prospect of their star striker Robert Lewandowski spending some time on the sideline with an injury. And they’ll be without Jordi Alba who was sent off in the draw with Espanyol which turned into a farce with 15 yellow cards and two reds dished out.
Real don’t have a cakewalk either this weekend though, facing sixth-place Villareal who have only given up 12 goals all season, second only to Barcelona’s sterling record.
Sadly, La Liga is shaping up as a rerun with the same two-teams battling for the title, there’s a nine-point gap between the top two and third-place Real Sociedad.
For those casting an eye towards the inevitable, Barcelona and Real Madrid’s remaining El Classico is Sunday, March 19 in Barcelona.
FRIDAY: Elche v. Celta Vigo; Valencia v. Cádiz.
SATURDAY: Villarreal v. Real Madrid; Mallorca v. Real Valladolid; Espanyol v. Girona.
SUNDAY: Almería v. Real Sociedad; Rayo Vallecano v. Real Betis; Sevilla v. Getafe; Atlético Madrid v. Barcelona.
MONDAY: Athletic Bilbao v. Osasuna.
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