Arsenal face Man United 4th round
MANCHESTER United will visit Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup at The Emirates Stadium after Monday’s draw pitted the two Premier League giants together.
Arsenal with 13 FA Cup wins and United with 12 are the most successful clubs in the world’s oldest knockout competition.
Premier League champions Manchester City are at home to top-flight strugglers Burnley, while holders Chelsea will take on Sheffield Wednesday or Luton Town at Stamford Bridge.
Giant killers Newport County of League Two (fourth tier), who beat Leicester City in the third round, face a trip to second-tier Middlesbrough, managed by Newport-born Tony Pulis.
Everton face a tricky test at Championship (second tier) side Millwall, while Crystal Palace will host Tottenham Hotspur in an all-London tie.
Non-league Barnet — the lowest-ranked club left in the competition — welcome Championship side Brentford.
In Monday night’s final match of the third round, Premier League leaders Liverpool paid the price for fielding a weakened side as they were knocked out with a 2-1 defeat by Wolves.
The Merseysiders fell behind to a Raul Jimenez goal on the break in the 38th minute, the Mexican firing home confidently after Diogo Jota robbed James Milner.
Belgian forward Divock Origi brought Liverpool, seven-times FA Cup winners, level in the 51st minute with a well-placed effort from the edge of the area.
But Wolves grabbed the winner four minutes later when Ruben Neves struck a superb low drive from 30 yards out.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp fielded a much-changed line-up, including two teenage debutants in midfielder Curtis Jones and full-back Rafael Camacho.
The line-up was further weakened in the sixth minute when central defender Dejan Lovren had to go off with a hamstring injury and was replaced by 16-year-old Dutchman KiJana Hoever.
Clearly disappointed with Lovren’s injury, especially given he has two other central defenders Joe Gomez and Joel Matip currently sidelined, Klopp said: “I am not sure what you all would have said if immediately from the beginning our centrehalf situation was Fabinho and Ki-Jana; then probably a few Swansea City v Gillingham AFC Wimbledon v West Ham United Shrewsbury Town or Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers Millwall v Everton Brighton & Hove Albion v West Bromwich Albion Bristol City v Bolton Wanderers Accrington Stanley v Derby County or Southampton Doncaster Rovers v Oldham Athletic Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday or Luton Town Newcastle United or Blackburn Rovers v Watford Middlesbrough v Newport County Manchester City v Burnley Barnet v Brentford Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers Arsenal v Manchester United Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur The fourth round will be played from January 25 to 28.
very smart people would tell me that I don’t respect the competition or whatever.”
Wolves’s Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo was delighted with the way his team, ninth in the Premier League, had handled Liverpool. “I am very pleased, the team performed very well in a tough game. We took our chances,” he said.