FA Cup Quarter-Final previews with team news and predicted scores

It’s FA Cup quarter-finals weekend and we have some exciting games to look forward to. Let’s look ahead at all the action coming up over the next few days….

Manchester City vs Newcastle United

Holders Manchester City take on Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening, 5.30pm kick-off. City continued their excellent form with a 6-2 thrashing of Luton Town in the previous round with Erling Haaland scoring five at Kenilworth Road.

The Cityzens are also through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and are just one point behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League title race, so they are on-course to repeat last years historic treble.

Last time out, Man City played out a 1-1 draw with Liverpool in a pulsating game at Anfield. John Stones opened the scoring before Alexis MacAllister converted from the spot to make it 1-1 after Ederson fouled Darwin Nunez in the area. Both teams had chances to win it but they had to settle for a point, which left Arsenal sitting top on goal difference from Liverpool.

City now turn their attention to the FA Cup and they come into the game off the back of a 21-game unbeaten run in all competitions. They’ve also beaten Newcastle in 15 of their last 16 home meetings, so they’ll be in confident mood of picking up another win to reach the semi-finals.

Newcastle needed penalties to beat Blackburn Rovers in the previous round and they’ve continued their inconsistent form in the league since that game. After beating Wolves 3-0 at home, the Magpies lost 3-2 to Chelsea on Monday night.

They sit 10th in the table so the FA Cup is their only hope of salvaging something from a disappointing campaign. However, with a daunting trip to the Etihad tomorrow evening, the chances are Newcastle will extend their 69-year wait for silverware.

Team news

Manchester City have suffered a fresh injury blow with the news that Kevin de Bruyne is out with a groin injury. Jack Grealish is also still nursing his own groin issue while Ederson is set for a spell on the sidelines with a muscle injury.

Stefan Ortega will therefore start in goal while the likes of Ruben Dias, Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol and Matheus Nunes are pushing for recalls if Guardiola wants to freshen things up.

As for Newcastle, they will hand Anthony Gordon a late fitness test. He injured his knee against Chelsea but it’s not as bad as first feared and could still feature tomorrow. Dan Burn will also need a late test to see if he’ll be available.

However, Harvey Barnes has been ruled out with a hamstring injury while Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson, Joelinton, Joe White and Sandro Tonali are all missing.

Prediction: Man City 3-1 Newcastle

Chelsea vs Leicester City

Chelsea welcome Leicester City to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday lunchtime. The Blues have endured another disappointing campaign but there have been signs of encouragement in recent weeks.

They drew 1-1 away to Manchester City last month before narrowly losing out to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final in extra time. A hard fought 2-2 draw away to Brentford was followed by a 3-2 win over Newcastle United at home on Monday night.

However, the Londoners still sit 11th in the Premier League table so the FA Cup is there only chance to salvage something from a frustrating season. Despite their poor form, fans are still right behind the team and this game is expected to be sold-out. Supporters can still buy tickets at seatsnet.com if they cannot purchase them via the official club marketplace.

While Chelsea will have been relieved to avoid the ‘big guns’ in the draw, Leicester will still pose a tricky test. The Foxes are on-course to return to the top flight as they currently sit top of the Championship table.

Their lead has been cut to just three points after a disappointing run that’s seen them win just one of their last five league games [W1 D1 L3], so they’ll be hoping to get back on track with a shock win at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

Team news

Chelsea will be without Ben Chilwell, Benoit Badiashilie, Christopher Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana so Mauricio Pochettino has plenty of injury problems to contend with.

Leicester are without Dennis Praet, Kasey McAteer and Ricardo Pereira while Jakub Stolarczyk is expected to start in goal.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Leicester

Man Utd vs Liverpool

The biggest game of the weekend sees Manchester United take on North-West rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, kicking off at 3.30pm.

United have endured a frustrating season but kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Everton last time out. That’s left them sitting sixth in the table – six points off fifth placed Tottenham and eight adrift of the top four. However, with England in a strong position to claim a fifth Champions League place, United could still snatch one of those spots if they perform well during the last 10 games.

Having beaten Nottingham Forest with a late Casemiro goal in the previous round of the FA Cup, Man Utd have been rewarded with a bumper clash against Liverpool in the quarter-finals.

The Reds head to Old Trafford still fighting to win four trophies this season. They’ve already got the League Cup in the bag, are through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and are joint top of the Premier League, so Jurgen Klopp could leave the club on a high in May.

Team news

Man Utd hope to welcome Rasmus Hojlund back from injury while Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka should also be available. However, Mason Mount isn’t ready yet despite returning to training, while Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez are also still unavailable.

Liverpool will hand a late fitness test to Ibrahima Konate after he missed the win over Sparta Prague on Thursday night. Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota, Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones and Trent Alexander-Arnold are still missing.

Prediction: Man Utd 1-2 Liverpool

Wolves vs Coventry

Wolves have a great chance of reaching the semi-finals after being drawn to face Coventry City at Molineux on Saturday lunchtime.

Gary O’Neil has done a terrific job at Wolves and they sit ninth in the Premier League table after beating Fulham 2-1 at the weekend. That extended their run to four wins from their last six league games so keep alive hopes they could even qualify for Europe.

Wolves beat Brighton 1-0 in the previous round of the FA Cup and they avoided all the ‘big dogs’ in the draw, so will be confident of making it through to the last-4.

Coventry are eighth in the Championship after beating Watford away at the weekend, and they thrashed Maidstone United 5-0 in the previous round of the FA Cup.

Wolves shouldn’t underestimate the Championship outfit as anything can happen in football, but they’re the red-hot favourites to progress on Saturday.

Team news

Wolves will be without Pedro Neto after he picked up a hamstring injury at the weekend. Hwang Hee-Chan is also out but Matheus Cunha and Craig Dawson are likely to be passed fit.

Coventry are without Victor Torp due to a hamstring injury while Jamie Allen and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto are also missing.

Prediction: Wolves 2-0 Coventry