FA Cup fourth round: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in 10 games since appointing Liam Rosenior as head coach last month. Repeated doziness at the back has cost them. They have held commanding advantages against Charlton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leeds, only to give away silly goals. It is a bad habit and proved costly when a 2-0 lead was squandered during Tuesday’s draw with Leeds. Rosenior was livid afterwards, and is waiting for a consistent performance. Chelsea travel to Hull , Rosenior’s former club, on Friday night. They will surely advance against Championship opponents, but how they do it will matter. It is time for them to get serious. Jacob Steinberg

A nervy victory against QPR in the third round sparked West Ham’s ongoing mini-revival. The FA Cup is far from their biggest priority this season but it has given Nuno Espírito Santo’s side momentum in their fight to stay up. They have taken 10 points from five league games since beating QPR and are increasingly optimistic about their survival chances before taking on lowly League One opponents in Burton Albion. Nuno will probably make changes – Jarrod Bowen looks in need of a rest – but he should not view the Cup as a mere inconvenience. JS

West Ham’s win over QPR in the third round ended a 10-game winless run and sparked a league revival. Photograph: Bradley Collyer/PA

Burnley’s unlikely comeback at Crystal Palace notwithstanding, most would expect the jig to be up for the Clarets so far as continued membership of the Premier League goes. But even if that’s the case, that eyebrow-raising result proves Scott Parker’s side are still competitive. Think back to Wigan in 2013, who enjoyed a mostly kind path to FA Cup glory (Bournemouth in their League One guise, Macclesfield, Huddersfield, Millwall) with the two obvious exceptions of Everton away and Manchester City in the quarter-final and final respectively. Burnley have already punted in-form Millwall out of the Cup, and should have more than enough to deal with Mansfield, so get over this hurdle and the odds of becoming only the second club to win the FA Cup while going down get that little bit shorter. What’s the point in sport if you can’t dream big? It’s the most realistic way to keep Burnley’s season alive a while longer, if nothing else. Scott Murray

Southampton fans would have been fearing the worst when three goals down at half-time at Leicester on Tuesday night. That 9-0 wasn’t so long ago. Those worries were banished in gloriously absurd fashion as Tonda Eckert’s team, who were still 3-1 down with nine minutes of regulation time remaining, turned things around to seal a 4-3 victory for the ages. Thrillingly the two teams meet again in the Cup on Saturday. Saints have turned a bit of a corner under Eckert after reverting to four at the back and, while much may depend on whether the popular but brittle Ross Stewart is risked to lead the line ahead of Cameron Archer, Saints will go into this match brimming with confidence after the midweek madness. Leicester’s 2021 FA Cup triumph suddenly seems an awfully long time ago. Southampton’s 1976 victory actually is … but as the last-but-one second-tier club to lift the Cup, their dreams of doing it again burn brighter than they would have done during the break at the King Power. SM

Shea Charles celebrates his late winner at the King Power Stadium in Tuesday’s dramatic Championship clash. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Thirteen months after being drubbed 8-0 by Manchester City in the third round, Salford are back at the Etihad Stadium in the fourth. Karl Robinson is still the manager and his side are sixth in League Two, having lost two of their past three games, after finishing eighth last term. James McAtee, who netted a hat-trick in last year’s tie, is now at Nottingham Forest. Manchester City’s week began with a 2-1 win at Liverpool and a 3-0 victory over Fulham. With third-tier Exeter City eviscerated 10-1 by City in the previous round, there can surely be no shock … can there? Jamie Jackson

Breaching Aston Villa’s defence has been a major problem for Newcastle this season. They failed to do so on the opening day at the season at Villa Park, although neither Nick Woltemade nor Yoane Wissa had completed their transfers to the Magpies at that stage. Both strikers did feature in last month’s limp 2-0 home reverse to Unai Emery’s side, in which Newcastle’s bluntness proved a sign of things to come. That defeat began a run of five games without a win in all competitions, ended only by Dr Tottenham in midweek; a game in which Eddie Howe opted to start both Woltemade and Wissa on the bench, preferring Anthony Gordon in the middle of a more fluid frontline. It will be telling if the duo, bought for a combined £125m in the summer, are substitutes once again in the Cup. Dominic Booth

Anthony Gordon led the line for Newcastle in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory at Tottenham. Photograph: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty Images

Brighton fans have been treated with, at best, disregard and, at worst, contempt by the decision to show their trip to Liverpool on TNT Sports at 8pm on a Saturday. After one win in 13 league games, losing to an 86th-minute own goal at Aston Villa on Wednesday, and amid diminishing faith in Fabian Hürzeler, their latest headache will be getting home from Anfield, particularly if the tie goes to extra time and penalties. The only consolation would be a repeat of their third-round success at Manchester United – Brighton’s last win in any competition – and a performance to support Hürzeler’s conviction he can turn the tide of disapproval. He should expect few favours from Arne Slot’s team selection. With Liverpool out of the title race and chasing Champions League qualification, the importance of this season’s FA Cup is not lost on the head coach. Slot needs his team to build on their valuable win at Sunderland in midweek. Andy Hunter

A familiar face will be absent from the St Andrew’s directors’ box on Sunday. Birmingham’s chair, Tom Wagner, recently suffered a stroke and although the 56-year-old American financier is reported to be recovering well in hospital, he is expected to take an extended period of medical leave. Wagner, who took control of the club in 2023, will miss what promises to be an intriguing litmus test of Birmingham’s potential. The Blues are prospering in the Championship under the intelligent management of Chris Davies, just a point adrift of a playoff place. Leeds have no desire to return to the second tier after promotion and, despite encouraging Premier League form, Daniel Farke may harbour mixed feelings about an extended Cup run. It would not be a shock if Dominic Calvert-Lewin was rested, and it would be unwise to bet against a minor upset. Louise Taylor

Daniel Farke may not put too much emphasis on the FA Cup, with Leeds fighting for Premier League survival. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

With the hosts locked in a Championship relegation battle and Sunderland virtually assured of Premier League survival, the prospect of an FA Cup adventure will surely appeal to Régis Le Bris. A run towards Wembley would also allow Sunderland’s manager to offer fringe players like Melker Ellborg, Luke O’Nien, Lutsharel Geertruida and Chris Rigg some welcome starts. It would be particularly interesting for visiting fans to catch a first sight of Ellborg, recently arrived from Malmö to serve as Robin Roefs’ goalkeeping understudy, while the chance to rest Nordi Mukiele and Enzo Le Fée would be welcome. Rigg’s career has stalled a little since the gifted local academy graduate was hyped as one of Europe’s most promising midfielders. He is still only 18 but, perhaps as much as anyone, Rigg would benefit from a rare first-team start. O’Nien, meanwhile, remains the hugely popular club captain and shone in the third-round win at Everton. LT

The exceptional depth of his squad this season has allowed Mikel Arteta to field an entirely different starting lineup in some games as Arsenal juggle the demands of being in four competitions in mid-February. But with Mikel Merino absent due to a stress fracture in his foot and Ethan Nwaneri on loan at Marseille, Arsenal are short of options in midfield. Could this Cup tie against struggling Wigan be an opportunity to give Myles Lewis-Skelly a runout in his favourite position? The 19-year-old burst on to the scene last season at left-back but has been behind Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapié in the pecking order this campaign and looks unlikely to be in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad as a result. Lewis-Skelly made his name in Arsenal’s academy as a bustling midfielder and his energy suggests he could thrive in Declan Rice’s box-to-box role against League One opponents. Ed Aarons