1
Bristol City helping restore romance to the Cup
In an era when it seems there is a strange appetite to diminish cup competitions at every opportunity, it was heartening to listen to the Bristol City striker Tommy Conway discuss what it meant to him to score the goal that edged out West Ham in their FA Cup third-round replay. Conway was a fan in the Lansdown Stand the night his boyhood club beat Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in 2017 and seven years on it was his goal that earned another tie against Premier League opposition. Seb Palmer-Houlden, the City striker who will line up against United for Newport on Sunday, was a ballboy when the Robins gave José Mourinho’s side a bloody nose. City made lots of friends on that cup run, which ended in the semi-finals against Manchester City, and they host Nottingham Forest on Friday with another chance for the club to enhance its reputation. Ben Fisher
2
Fit-again Chukwuemeka primed for Chelsea chance
There was surprise when Carney Chukwuemeka joined Chelsea from Aston Villa in the summer of 2022. Was it a wise step for the teenage midfielder? He was on the periphery last season, sinking into the background as Chelsea’s stock plummeted and expensive signings arrived. But pre-season offered the England youth international a fresh chance. Mauricio Pochettino gave him opportunities and started Chukwuemeka in Chelsea’s first two games of the new campaign. Yet the challenges continued. Chukwuemeka badly hurt a knee minutes after scoring a brilliant goal against West Ham in August. He spent a long time on the treatment table but now he is back. He will hope for a chance when Chelsea host his old team on Friday night. Jacob Steinberg
3
Thriving Porro out to show old friends what he can do
The eyes of the Tottenham support will be on James Maddison, who is poised to return from a near 12-week ankle injury layoff to face Manchester City on Friday night. But also prominent will be Pedro Porro, one of the players to have stepped up in Maddison’s absence. The right-back, on City’s books for three seasons from 2019 without making an appearance for them, has supplied six of his eight assists for the season since Maddison was ruled out. And it was his long-range cracker that earned Spurs a 1-0 win over Burnley in the third round of the FA Cup. Porro struggled in the second half of last season after his move from Sporting, not helped by what Ange Postecoglou described on Thursday as a “really unstable environment”. He has thrived, though, since the manager came in over the summer, especially when he has got up and across into midfield. David Hytner
4
Stones roll up for testing trip to Ipswich
Maidstone head to Portman Road dreaming of becoming the lowest-placed team to reach the FA Cup fifth round since Blyth Spartans’ famous run in 1978. The odds are stacked against the National League South side at Ipswich, of course, and the English game is now far more unequal than it was 46 years ago. Nor will Maidstone’s cause be helped by the absence of the suspended defender Raphe Brown and the injured forward Sol Wanjau-Smith. Their new Dutch signing, Manny Duku, could be one to look out for though and the much-travelled striker is feeling bullish. “Imagine winning 1-0 and I get the goal – that would be incredible but it wouldn’t matter who scored,” he said this week. Stones also have a promotion campaign to focus on, as do their opponents, and the non-leaguers can only hope Ipswich are distracted enough by that to have an off-day here. But Kieran McKenna’s side have a ruthless streak that will take some jolting. Tom Davies
5
Barkley back to Goodison with glint in his eye
The manner of his Everton exit means Ross Barkley is unlikely to receive the warmest of welcomes when returning to his boyhood club on Saturday, even if it was over five years ago, but there will be appreciation of the threat he poses with Luton Town and perhaps for how the midfielder has belatedly revived a flagging career. Barkley, now 30, never hit the heights that the former Everton managers David Moyes and Roberto Martínez envisaged for the creative midfielder but is flourishing this season under Rob Edwards. It is no coincidence that, for the first time since his leaving Everton for a disappointing spell with Chelsea, then Aston Villa, then Nice, Barkley has the total confidence of his manager plus a consistent run of starts to shine. There will be some irony if Everton are the ones to suffer for his renaissance in the FA Cup and Premier League relegation battle this season. Andy Hunter
6
How seriously will Wilder take FA Cup?
Football managers like to talk about “the next game being the important game” but, in reality, the vast majority prioritise their fixtures. It is far from inconceivable that both Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi could be, privately at least, happy to sacrifice FA Cup progress in order to chase different goals. Wilder’s side are bottom of the Premier League and seven points adrift of safety and have a potentially vital relegation six pointer at Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Brighton are seventh in the top tier and in the last 16 of the Europa League. Does Wilder field a weakened team and concentrate on the trip to Selhurst Park or might he believe that a cup win could help build some much needed confidence and momentum in South Yorkshire? Similarly does De Zerbi think Brighton are capable of competing on three fronts? Only one thing seems absolutely certain; neither manager will want a fourth-round replay. Louise Taylor
7
Can Wilson help Fulham recover from Liverpool loss?
Fulham were too passive for much of the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. They struggled to recover from conceding an early goal and did not do enough to go through, but they perked up when Harry Wilson came off the bench in the second half. The winger made a positive impact and will hope to start when Fulham host Newcastle on Saturday night. The question is whether Marco Silva’s side have recovered from the disappointment of failing to beat Liverpool. Another cup competition offers a chance for a swift response. JS
8
All up for grabs in Black Country derby
There could be no excuses for West Brom or Wolves not going full throttle when they meet in the first Black Country derby since May 2021, and the first in front of supporters for 12 years, when Albion enjoyed inflicting a 5-1 drubbing at Molineux. Wolves are in decent form in the Premier League and in no real danger of relegation so are well placed to prioritise the Cup. Albion too, though focused on the Championship playoff race, could really benefit from the money and profile a run would bring to a club bedevilled in recent years by protests, ownership strife and financial problems. The owner, Guochuan Lai, who has drenched the club in debt, remains in place for now amid protracted talks with the Warmfront Holdings consortium, but on the pitch West Brom have impressed under Carlos Corberán’s management and have a chance to show what they’re capable of against the team Baggies fans most want to beat. TD
9
Quansah solves Klopp’s defensive quandary
The answer to the question of why Liverpool didn’t sign a new central defender last summer is Jarell Quansah. The 20-year-old gave another accomplished display to help Jürgen Klopp’s team, and much-changed, inexperienced defence, reach the Carabao Cup final at Fulham on Wednesday. It was the Warrington-born defender’s 16th appearance of his breakthrough season and he is the latest example of Liverpool prospering from Klopp’s policy of always keeping open a pathway for academy talent as they chase another quadruple, continuing with Norwich’s visit in the FA Cup on Sunday. “The pre-season was super-positive,” said Klopp of Quansah, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Bristol Rovers. “We got asked a lot that we have to sign a new centre-half, and obviously we were thinking about that. It’s not that we ignore potential issues, but when we saw him it was clear that we will not go for it, that we will have our own solution.” AH
10
Manchester United visit to round off great week for Newport
It may slip under the radar given everything else going on at Rodney Parade this week but on Wednesday evening news that Huw Jenkins’s takeover had finally been ratified by the English Football League offered Newport County supporters another boost. Jenkins, the former Swansea City chairman, has acquired a 52% majority stake from the supporters’ trust, which had owned and run the club for the past nine years. Last summer, Newport lost key players because of financial restraints and registered a record loss of £1.2m, but the visit of Manchester United will bring in a £400,000 windfall. “It was a turbulent summer, but I think we’ve put together a really good group of lads and staff and gone from strength to strength,” said Newport’s manager, Graham Coughlan. “We’re in a good place, but we’ve come through many a storm to get here.” BF
