FA Cup Fifth Round – Selected Match Previews & Betting Tips
Football is coming thick and fast at the moment, and next up is the world’s oldest cup competition, the FA Cup. There are some great games this week, including Stoke v Brighton, Bristol City v Manchester City and Manchester United v West Ham United. Join us as we preview the top fixtures.
Eight games are being played in the fifth round proper this week, four on Tuesday and four on Wednesday. So we select four games which we will be following and highlight players to watch out for in these games.
FA Cup Fifth Round – Stoke V Brighton (Tues)
It is the second-ever game between Stoke City and Brighton in the FA Cup. The first meeting ended 3 – 0 in favour of the Potters in the fifth round, where they reached the finals in 2010-11.
Stoke is hoping to get to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2011-12, as they hadn’t reached the last eight while playing outside the top flight since the 1927-28 campaign when they were in the second tier.
Jacob Brown has scored three goals in four FA Cup appearances and will be their best prospect in front of goal if they are to disappoint the Premier League giants, especially while playing at the Bet365 Stadium. Playing for the underdogs, football betting fans can get decent odds on him, with bet365 offering 12/1 to open the scoring and 9/2 to score any time.
The concern for Alex Neil is their busy schedule playing a third successive midweek game which will be a real test for their depth and mental strength. They lost 1 – 0 at home to Millwall meant they have not recorded consecutive results over the last six games, a pattern they will continue into this match to avoid defeat.
However, since being relegated, they have been excellent against Premier League clubs, winning four and losing three of their seven encounters in the FA Cup or the EFL.
Brighton has not been victorious against Stoke in the last ten games (two draws, eight defeats) in all competitions dating back to 2001. However, in the form they are in, sitting pretty in the top half of the Premier League table and excellent form have a great chance of ending the poor record against Stoke City. In addition, the Seagulls have progressed in sixteen of eighteen FA Cup ties against teams from lower divisions failing to do so against Sheffield Wednesday (2019-20) and Lincoln City (2016-17).
Robert de Zerbi has seen his side enjoy a weekend rest before this encounter. They are ideal title contenders in this year’s FA Cup ties after knocking out Liverpool and thrashing Championship side Middlesbrough (5 – 1).
Kaoru Mitoma scored the late winning goal against Liverpool and followed this excellence with a goal in their victory against Bournemouth days later. We anticipate a great game of attacking football as Brighton has not ceased to wow us this season with incredible performances and fantastic goals.
So how did we get here?
Watch our FA Cup journey so far 🍿 pic.twitter.com/LK0szhTW5D
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) February 28, 2023
Our Prediction: Stoke 1 Brighton 2 (15/2)
FA Cup Fifth Round – Fulham V Leeds (Tues)
The tournament’s first meeting between Fulham and Leeds United is set for the round of sixteen of the FA Cup.
The Cottagers were victorious (3 – 2) in a high-scoring tie between the two that produced five goals and will be hoping to defeat Leeds at Craven Cottage.
The hosts were making a fifth-round appearance for the first time since 2016-17 when they lost 3 – 0 against Spurs. Their last quarter-final appearance dates back to 2009-10 when they beat Notts County 4 – 0.
Marco Silva’s side boasts a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions (three wins, three draws) and will be motivated by their 3 – 2 triumph in the fourth round against Sunderland. However, they have been scoring for fun with just two goalless first halves in twenty-six competitive home games, raising the prospect for a high-scoring round of sixteen ties.
Manor Solomon scored an absolute beauty of a goal over the weekend and scored two in the previous two home games. Seven of his eight competitive goals followed the halftime break making him a serious threat in front of goal.
The Whites were defeated in the five FA Cup games against Premier League opposition and failed to score in each encounter. Leeds’ last victory under such circumstances was against Tottenham in 2013.
The travelling side has been drawn to play away in each of their previous twelve ties, which is the longest run in the FA Cup.
The Premier League club are diverse in attack boasting seven scorers, which is the highest tally since 1988-99 (seven) and is just one less player from making a record set in 1966-67 (eight).
Javi Gracia’s tenure started in a winning mode beating Southampton 1 – 0, which ended a four-game winless run (one draw, three defeats). A huge concern is that Leeds has lost five FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition without scoring a goal. Playing away from home has not been great, with just one win in nine competitive away games (three draws, five defeats), which was a 3 – 1 win against Accrington Stanley in the previous round.
Jack Harrison has scored seven of his nine goals in all tournaments coming away from home.
Our Prediction: Fulham 1 Leeds 0 (15/2)
FA Cup Fifth Round – Bristol V Manchester City (Tues)
This game is the first-ever meeting between Bristol City and Manchester City in the FA Cup, with the hosts hoping to disappoint the reigning Premier League Champions.
The two sides last met in the EFL Cup, where Bristol City lost both legs (2 – 1 at home and 3 – 2 at the Etihad). However, the motivating factor about the performance was that they scored in both legs against one of the best teams in Europe.
Bristol has progressed from the fifth round just once in fourteen ties which date back to 1973-74 when they knocked out Leeds United.
Nigel Pearson’s side has their eyes on the Championship playoffs and could flex their strength against one of the best in Europe.
They have the confidence, especially playing at Ashton Gate, where they are unbeaten in seven games (four wins, three draws). They have been giant slayers over recent years when they knocked out Manchester United 2 – 1 in the League Cup in 2017, hoping to repeat the excellence.
Nahki Wells scored from the spot after the sixty-fifth minute in Robin’s last two games. Although Alex Scott is a promising prospect and has been compared to Jack Grealish, who Scott modelled, the youngster could make a mark in front of the home fans.
The Citizens have won their previous twelve FA Cup games against teams in the lower division by an aggregate score of 42 – 8. The last time results didn’t go their way was in 2018 when they lost 1 – 0 to Wigan.
Manchester City have won their previous ten away games in the FA Cup, which stretches to 2019, their longest-ever run.
Pep Guardiola has been ruthless in his approach to domestic cups, evident in the thirty-four victories in thirty-five games. This is shown in the fact that he has failed just once in the Wigan defeat as Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona manager.
Manchester City is pursuing a seventh FA Cup title and extending their five-game unbeaten run (three wins, two draws) after a 4 – 1 triumph against Bournemouth over the weekend.
They have not been solid at the back lately, conceding in each of the five games, which should be a worry for one of the best sides in all aspects of the league. However, Pep Guardiola, we expect to field a strong side as he has always been keen to go relatively full-strength to manage the tie early.
Julian Alvarez scored the opening goal in the previous game. He will be full of confidence, especially after being recognised in the FIFA Awards during the week after such a short spell in Europe.
Our Prediction: Bristol City 0 Manchester City 3 (13/2)
🏆 FA Cup
Chelsea ✅
Arsenal ✅
Bristol City ❓ pic.twitter.com/a6Qe8Msbsm— Manchester City (@ManCityES) February 28, 2023
FA Cup Fifth Round – Manchester United V West Ham United (Wed)
This game is the twelfth FA Cup tie between Manchester United and West Ham since they played each other in the fifth round back in 2020-21, where the hosts won 1 – 0.
Erik ten Hag’s side will be motivated to this encounter after winning the EFL Cup against Newcastle over the weekend. Now that they have ended their longest trophy drought, they will be encouraged to achieve their quadruple quest, which is still in their cards.
Their manager wrote his name alongside Jose Mourinho as a manager who won a trophy in their first season.
Manchester United are the most in-form team in the league, unbeaten in their last eighteen matches at home (sixteen wins, two draws). They have scored at least twice in the previous thirteen games and lost just once against West Ham since 2007 (fifteen wins, three draws).
Manchester United have won thirteen (two draws) of their fifteen home games, with their last defeat coming against Arsenal in 2015.
In the current FA Cup format, the Red Devils have progressed from more FA Cup fifth-round ties (forty-one) than any other side.
Marcus Rashford is the most in-form player in the world right now and has ten career goals in ten head-to-head games. As the manager likes to play his strongest side possible, Rashford to open the scoring might be a sensible bet (7/2).
The Hammers have lost four in a row against Manchester United, with their last victory (1 – 0) at Old Trafford coming by a Paolo Di Canio goal in 2001.
In all competitions, the Londoners have won just one in twenty away games (drawing four, losing fifteen) and have failed to score multiple goals in thirty-seven visits to the Theatre of Dreams.
Nevertheless, despite their engagement in the relegation phase, David Moyes would find delight in leading the Hammers to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2015-16, where United eventually knocked them out.
However, they lost the previous two rounds of sixteen ties, including a defeat against Manchester United in 2020-21.
The former Manchester United manager, Moyes, has not enjoyed travels to his former employer’s stadium, with just one win in his managerial career. The motivating factor for West Ham is that their only wins in 2023 have come in the FA Cup (two wins, two draws, two defeats).
However, they have momentum, thumping Nottingham Forest 4 – 0 in the Premier League over the weekend to ease the relegation fears.
Danny Ings opened his account for West Ham and has vast experience with his time at Liverpool, and Aston Villa could be the man to unlock the solid United defence.
Our Prediction: Manchester United 2 West Ham United 1 (15/2)
All eight games in the FA Cup are televised. The coverage is split between ITV1, BBC One, ITV4 and the BBC’s iPlayer service.
