Key events
Champ roundup.
An email has landed from Dean Kinsella:
Hi Dom. Just a mention for Charlton who continue a great run of form under Nathan Jones. Looks like it might be a battle for us with Leyton Orient for a play off place. I was rather hoping their cup run might have carried on. Great effort from them today.
Yep, Charlton saw off Stevenage 2-0 in one of two early kickoffs in League One, Stockport beat Barnsley 2-1 in the other. Both victorious sides are firmly in the playoff picture.
Any relation to former Addicks midfielder Mark Kinsella, Dean?
Right, I’m warming up my typing fingers ahead of the 3pm whistles.
In a couple of hours’ time, we’ll know the identity of six more sides who have made the FA Cup fifth round, to join both Manchester clubs and Millwall.
It’s a crying shame that a) this went down as an own goal; b) it wasn’t a winner so misses out on FA Cup folklore.
The match reports of the early action have dropped. Get around them.
Some late, late goals have been scored in the day’s early Championship action. Tom Cleverley was denied a huge win as Watford boss by Dennis Cirkin’s late leveller at the Stadium of Light, while Callum Paterson thought he’d bundled in a 93rd minute equaliser for Sheffield Wednesday at The Hawthorns – only for Jayson Molumby to nick it for the Baggies three minutes later. Crazy stuff.
With all four of those clubs in the playoff/promotion mix, Norwich and Sheffield United can boost their chances this afternoon as both sides have winnable home games against Derby and Portsmouth respectively.
Elsewhere in FA Cup team news, Wigan coach Shaun Maloney is not playing ball. He’s picked Steven Sessegnon on the Latics’ bench, whereas Marco Silva has plumped for the other twin, Ryan Sessegnon, in the Fulham starting lineup at The Brick Community Stadium.
Selected FA Cup tie team news
Coventry v Ipswich
Coventry: Dovin; Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Binks, Kitching; Da Silva, Eccles, Rudoni, Allen; Thomas-Asante, Sakamoto.
Ipswich: Palmer; Godfrey, Woolfenden, Burgess, Townsend; Phillips, Taylor; Philogene, Clarke, Szmodics, Hirst.
Everton v Bournemouth
Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Young; Gueye, Garner; Lindstrøm, Doucouré, Ndiaye; Beto.
Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Winterburn, Adams; Tavernier, Christie, Semenyo; Jebbison.
Southampton v Burnley
Southampton: McCarthy; Bree, Bednarek, Manning; Walker-Peters, Ugochukwu, Aribo, Wellington; Fernandes, Sulemana; Dibling.
Burnley: Hlacky; Sonne, Egan-Riley, Worrall, Pires; Sarmiento, Shelvey, Hannibal; Benson, Barnes, Humphreys.
Man City and Millwall through to fifth round
It finishes Leyton Orient 1-2 Manchester City and Leeds 0-2 Millwall.
A pretty proud Saturday lunchtime for teams in east London, all told.
There is a surprise in the other early FA Cup kickoff, albeit not a dramatic one given that Leeds have fielded a second string against Millwall. Still, few would have backed to be leading 2-0 at Elland Road at the 90-minute mark.
Millwall’s place in round five seems secure thanks to Femi Azeez’s double either side of half-time. For Leeds, it will be back to the grindstone in terms of their promotion hunt.
Leyton Orient v Manchester City has been quite the cup tie. And Kevin de Bruyne’s class of the bench may have just sealed it for last year’s FA Cup finalists.
Preamble
The FA Cup early knockings haven’t really delivered in recent years – 2023 and 2024 felt like duds in that respect – but after the epic Tamworth v Tottenham and Arsenal v Man United Sunday in the third round, there’s a bit of justified hype around this year’s fourth round.
And even the 3pm kickoffs not chosen for UK broadcast have enough intrigue to fulfil our insatiable appetites. Everton v Bournemouth is a tasty clash between two in-form top flight sides; Southampton v Burnley is a meaty encounter of lower Prem and upper Champ; while the two Sessegnon twins Steven and Ryan will dine at opposite ends of the same table during Wigan v Fulham.
Elsewhere, there’s a quartet of Championship games, including Norwich versus newly-managerless Derby. There’s a decent programme of League One and League Two action too, as well as the Scottish Cup fifth round and the usual Bundesliga fare. You wouldn’t want to follow it anywhere else, would you?
Tuck in and enjoy. Team news will follow.
