Newport look to create Cup history
MANCHESTER City will continue their assault on all four trophies this weekend when they turn their attention to the FA Cup, with a quarter-final place at stake.
The Premier League champions travel to Wales to play Newport County, the League Two club who are enjoying a stunning run in this season’s competition.
While Monday’s clash between Chelsea and Manchester United might be the heavyweight tie of the weekend, the meeting between lowly Newport and the might of City is the kind of contest the FA Cup has built its reputation on over the years.
Should Newport, who have already beaten Leicester and Middlesbrough to get to this stage, get a result against City, it would go down as one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history.
“It’s a long shot, but I believe if we play to the best of our ability and they have a bit of an off day and miss a few chances then we can cause the biggest upset in the history of the FA Cup,” Newport manager Michael Flynn said.
“I’m not unrealistic or delusional. I’m hoping they rest a few, I want a few of them to have a bad game and I want every single one of our players to play as well as they can, because that’s the only chance we’ve got.”
What adds to the occasion is the state of Newport’s Rodney Park ground, a venue that has staged more than 60 matches already this season, sharing football with rugby.
The uneven playing surface may give City something extra to think about, and Flynn said that gave his team a fighting chance.
“It’s always a little bit easier when you’re at home,” he said. “I wouldn’t even be contemplating a win if it was at the Etihad. It’s about enjoying the occasion and making sure the players go out there with the belief that they can cause problems for Man City and believing that we deserve to be there, because we do. We want to cause Man City problems and give a good account of ourselves and then enjoy Saturday evening and look back on a fantastic day, win, lose or draw.”
Chelsea and United meet at Old Trafford on Monday, with both looking to recover from defeats, albeit very different ones. United were beaten 2-0 at home by Paris St Germain in the Champions League in midweek, while Chelsea were humbled 6-0 at City in the league.
That defeat cast doubt on the future of Chelsea manager Mauricio Sarri, but the Italian vowed to bounce back by taking out United, after yesterday’s Europa League date in Sweden at Malmo.
“It’s not easy to play after losing 6-0,” Sarri told reporters. “But we have to play and we have to play well. We want to win. We want to react immediately.”
United could be without striker Anthony Martial and midfielder Jesse Lingard after both suffered injuries in the 2-0 defeat by PSG.
“We have to bounce back,” he said. “At this club you have to bounce back. In a tournament like the Champions League, it’s going to be difficult whoever you play against, but our bread and butter is the league and we’ve got the FA Cup against Chelsea as well. We have to look forward. We’ve got Chelsea and Liverpool (in the Premier League) in the next two games. Whoever is feeling sorry for themselves they will not play, probably, against Chelsea.”