FA Cup fifth-round preview: Will Luton stun Chelsea?

Manchester City beat Peterborough, Crystal Palace edged Stoke, and Middlesbrough shocked Tottenham on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. But which teams will join them? We preview the remaining fifth-round games…

Kick-Off 7.15pm: Luton vs Chelsea

Henri Lansbury and Elijah Adebayo are hoping to be fit for Luton’s FA Cup clash with Chelsea on Wednesday.

Midfielder Lansbury and striker Adebayo were substituted after picking up knocks in the second half of Town’s 1-0 Championship win over Derby last weekend.

Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu has missed the last couple of games through fatigue and will not be rushed back into contention by Hatters boss Nathan Jones.

New signing Robert Snodgrass could be in line for his debut while Luke Berry and Jordan Clark may be back in contention after spells out.

Hakim Ziyech is sidelined for Chelsea due to continued Achilles trouble.

Reece James’ participation is uncertain amid a managed return from a long-term hamstring issue, while Cesar Azpilicueta could also miss out with a knock.

Trevoh Chalobah suffered a nasty cut to the groin in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final and is also doubtful.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel held off from cataloguing Chelsea’s injury doubts, so lengthy was the potential list, leaving a number of last-minute decisions in the offing.

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Luton and Chelsea are meeting in the FA Cup for the second consecutive season, with the Blues running out 3-1 winners in round four at Stamford Bridge last season. The sides last met this far into the competition back in 1993-94, when a Gavin Peacock brace secured a 2-0 win for Chelsea at Wembley in the semi-final.
Luton have won four of their last five home matches against Chelsea (L1) – all in the top-flight – keeping a clean sheet in each victory between 1987 and, most recently, 1991. The Blues have only won one of their last 13 away games versus the Hatters (D5 L7).
Luton, who have lost eight of their last 11 FA Cup matches against top-flight sides (W1 D2), are looking to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 1993-94, when they lost to Chelsea at the semi-final stage.
Since overcoming Norwich on penalties in round three in 2017-18, Chelsea have won 19 of their 22 FA Cup games (L3), more than any other side. The Blues were last eliminated by lower league opposition this far into the competition in 2007-08, a 1-0 defeat to Championship Barnsley at Oakwell in the quarter-final.
Between them, Luton and Chelsea have netted 14 FA Cup goals this season, with each side having seven different players net for them in the competition exactly once. However, none of those 14 players were on the scoresheet in this fixture last season, when Tammy Abraham scored a hat-trick for the Blues and Jordan Clark pulled one back for the Hatters.
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku’s first FA Cup goal was back in March 2014, in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal while he was at Everton. Since (and including) that game, only Kelechi Iheanacho (15) has scored more goals in the competition proper than the Belgian (14).

Kick-Off 7.30pm: Southampton vs West Ham

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has no fresh injury concerns for Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to West Ham.

Injured trio Alex McCarthy, Lyanco and Nathan Tella remain sidelined for Saints.

Nathan Redmond could return against the Hammers after being absent from Hasenhuttl’s last four squads.

The winger sustained an ankle knock in training shortly before the 3-2 Premier League win at Tottenham in early February.

It remains to be seen if there is any involvement for West Ham‘s Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko, who was given time off following the invasion of the country by Russia.

Hammers boss David Moyes said Yarmolenko, absent from the 1-0 win over Wolves on Sunday, had been in training ahead of Wednesday’s tie but stressed that the club “won’t rush” the winger.

West Ham have also been without Vladimir Coufal and Ryan Fredericks, due to groin issues. Arthur Masuaku and Angelo Ogbonna are both recovering from knee injuries.

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This will be the third meeting of the season between Southampton and West Ham, with Saints remaining unbeaten in the two Premier League fixtures between the sides (W1 D1). Prior to their 3-2 away win on Boxing Day, Southampton were winless in eight matches with the Hammers (D2 L6).
West Ham have never lost to Southampton in the FA Cup, winning three and drawing three of their six meetings. The Hammers progressed past Southampton in 1919-20 (round one), 1922-23 (quarter-final) and 1974-75 (round three).
Southampton are unbeaten in their last seven FA Cup matches at St Mary’s (W5 D2), though were eliminated from one of those ties via a penalty shootout. Saints are looking to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals in consecutive campaigns for the first time since 1904-05 & 1905-06.

West Ham are winless in nine FA Cup away games against fellow Premier League sides (D3 L6), though have progressed twice via replays.
Since joining Southampton in 2016-17, Nathan Redmond has been involved in more FA Cup goals than any other player for the club (6 goals, 2 assists). These eight involvements have come in his last nine appearances in the competition.
Jarrod Bowen has scored for West Ham in the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup this season – the last player to score in the first three (available) rounds of the competition for the Hammers in a season was Frank McAvennie in 1986-87.

Kick Off 8.15pm: Liverpool vs Norwich

Team news: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will rotate his side for the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Norwich after a gruelling 120 minutes and victory on penalties at Wembley on Sunday.

Six players – Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Mohamed Salah – were on the pitch from beginning to end of the Carabao Cup final and it is unlikely most will feature, while Thiago Alcantara’s hamstring problem keeps him out until next week.

That will offer chances to the likes of defenders Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate and Kostas Tsimikas, midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones, and forwards Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino.

Norwich will be without the suspended Grant Hanley for their second trip to Anfield in under a fortnight after he picked up yellow cards in the previous two rounds of the competition.

Manager Dean Smith could also be without full-backs Brandon Williams and Max Aarons, with neither having trained since the weekend after picking up knocks.

Ozan Kabak continues to deal with a shoulder problem and is expected to miss out, with Andrew Omobamidele and Adam Idah still on the long-term injury list.

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Liverpool have already beaten Norwich three times in all competitions this season, twice in the Premier League and once in the League Cup – they’ve never beaten a team four times in a single season across league, FA Cup and League Cup.
Liverpool and Norwich last met in the FA Cup back in 1989-90, when holders Liverpool beat the Canaries after a replay in round four – goals from Steve Nicol, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley securing a 3-1 win.
This is only the second time under Jürgen Klopp Liverpool have reached round five of the FA Cup, also doing so in 2019-20 – a defeat to Chelsea. The Reds last reached the quarter-finals in 2014-15, before losing to Aston Villa in the semi-finals.
Norwich City have been eliminated at the fifth round of the FA Cup in four of the last five seasons they’ve reached this stage, though did beat Spurs in 2019-20 most recently.
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino has been involved in three goals in his last three appearances in the FA Cup (1 goal, 2 assists), more than he had been in his first eight in the competition (1 goal, 1 assist).
The only current Norwich player with a goal to his name against Liverpool for the Canaries is Teemu Pukki, who netted a consolation strike on the opening day of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign; however, the Finnish striker is yet to score in the FA Cup in six previous appearances.

Thursday’s fifth-round tie

Kick Off 8.15pm: Everton vs Boreham Wood

Team news to follow…

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This will be Boreham Wood’s first ever competitive meeting with a top-flight side, whilst only one of the previous seven non-league sides to pit their wits against top-flight opposition at the round five stage (since 1925-26) of the FA Cup have progressed – Lincoln City beating Burnley in 2016-17.
Since a 2-1 defeat to Swindon in the 1911-12 quarter-final, Everton have progressed from each of their last 10 FA Cup ties against non-league opposition, though two of those did end up going to replays. This is the Toffee’s first such fixture since a 2-0 win over Tamworth at Goodison Park in January 2012.
Everton have progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on 11 of the last 13 occasions they’ve reached the fifth round, including each of the last five. They were last eliminated at this stage of the competition in 2010-11 (0-1 vs Reading).

Since the Football League was formed in 1888-89, Boreham Wood are the 10th team in FA Cup history to play in each of the first four rounds of the competition and win each match with a clean sheet, whilst they are the very first non-league club to achieve this feat (excluding any byes or unfulfilled fixtures).
Everton boss Frank Lampard has progressed from 10 of his 12 FA Cup ties as a manager, only failing to do so with Derby in round five in 2018-19 (v Brighton) and losing in the final of the competition with Chelsea against Arsenal in 2019-20.
Of sides left in the competition, only Luton and Chelsea (7 each) have had more different goalscorers in this season’s FA Cup than Boreham Wood (6).

FA Cup fifth-round preview: Will Luton stun Chelsea?
Source: Pinoy Portal Articles

FA Cup fifth-round preview: Will Luton stun Chelsea?

Kick-Off 7.15pm: Luton vs Chelsea

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Kick-Off 7.30pm: Southampton vs West Ham

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Kick Off 8.15pm: Liverpool vs Norwich

Provisional Liverpool squad

Provisional Norwich squad

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Thursday’s fifth-round tie

Kick Off 8.15pm: Everton vs Boreham Wood

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