After Wednesday evening, the FA Cup draw for the quarter-finals have been finalised. Wolves and Chelsea will host Championships teams Coventry City and Leicester City respectively, while Manchester will host two top half Premier League games as Liverpool face their rivals Manchester United and Newcastle have a trip to the Etihad Stadium.
Northwest Derby at Old Trafford
Arguably the biggest tie in the Quarter-Final will be the match between Manchester United and Liverpool. Both Big Six teams have trouble of their own.
Liverpool’s injury crisis is yet to be seen in the results, but in such competitive environment, it is a hard task to keep up their form. No matter the team, Liverpool still have the upper hand compared to Manchester United, who have been one of the worst out-of-possession teams in the Premier League.
In a cup game, United have once chance, which is to settle back into a low block, as Casemiro is no longer capable to left alone in the middle of the pitch to face Liverpool’s transitional game. Contrary to common belief, André Onana is still in the plus in terms of shots he faced, and has a track record of playing well in a knockout style format.
Struggling Magpies travel to Manchester
For Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, while the team are not as compact as it was last season, going through should be the likely outcome. Having Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne unleashed on Newcastle, they should have one objective on their mind: simply outscore the opposition.
Eddie Howe’s team seem to lose their identity due to fatigue, and they have been picked apart by Arsenal recently. Not only that, but with their world class duo upfront, the Sky Blues are a bigger threat to create goals from transitions, like they did against Luton Town. And if Howe gives up his identity, it is never easy to stop City breaking down their defence with Haaland up front and Rodri ready to arrive in the box.
Chelsea to face Maresca’s machine
Chelsea had their best performances against the teams that like to control games, but at the moment, can Mauricio Pochettino afford to create a match plan where they rely on their opponent, if that team come from the Championship?
And that is Enzo Maresca’s biggest advantage, as they will be able to play how they usually do. There has been a recent slump in terms of the Foxes’ scoring their chances, but they are effectively a Premier League-quality team.
On the other hand, a manager can only improve their players’ performance so much, and Chelsea do have players of a higher quality. Like against Leeds United, they just need the right moment when their better players can overcome a challenge. Something the Blues could only achieve in certain games, but this will still be in their favour.
O’Neil should bet on a cup run
After defeating Brighton, and getting drawn against Coventry City at the Molineux, Gary O’Neil should definitely prioritise the FA Cup over the Premier League. After the mess that was caused by Julen Lopetegui and the board, achieving safety so early on this season is already a positive.
As Wolves are not competing for European places in the league, and O’Neil team have proved they can set up great game plans against the Big Six teams, there is no reason not try going far in the FA Cup, also having two Big Six quality players in their squad available, Rayan Aït-Nouri and Pedro Neto.
