Paullow

Perfect

I guess most would have taken Man Utd if offered 3 hours ago, mainly just to avoid City, but would be a bit gutting if we did draw them now as we would still be slight underdogs, albeit far more doable.

Kind of reminds me of the first FA Cup in 1998. We got Sheff Utd in the semi final, Arsenal got Wolves, so the higher ranked sides were kept apart (both opponents were in the second tier at the time).

Two Europe chasers and two relegation battlers in the SF, hopefully the former two are kept apart.

FOREST!

Effectively sudden death in the shootout now. I'd prefer Forest going through.

Just gone into stoppage time in the other match.

If it stays like this then Man Utd and Newcastle will be the two more favoured to win it, but Nottm/Wolves and Southampton's odds will also come in a bit because City would normally be such a big favourite to take it, and if any of the latter 3 did win it outright then Europe would only go down to 6th, and 5th if the FA Cup was somehow won by a 'lesser' side as well. Obviously in our position we want Man City out to massively increase out own chances of actually winning a major cup, and that's the mindset we need in our current position / trajectory, but it would be gutting if we finished 6th (where I'm expecting) and somehow didn't end up with European football next season.

These will be a long 36+ minutes for Southampton. Ironically, it might reduce our chances of playing in Europe next season if Man City do go out, but it will obviously increase our chances of winning it outright ourselves, so naturally hope they hang on.

I see Southampton have a Geordie (Armstrong) and a Mackem (Mara) up front.

I'd probably put the chances of going through something like 20% if we draw City, 38% if we draw Man Utd, and 68% or so if we drew any of the other 3, so naturally hope we avoid the two Manchester clubs, particularly City. That said, if someone offered me Man Utd now, I'd probably take it (especially if the home leg was second), mainly just to avoid City, but it should also be a good occasion, and would probably lock up one European spot in the league, should we fall short in the tie. That said, this doesn't feel at all like a one off where the next semi final will be another 18 years away, like it might had we got there as plucky underdogs under say Rafa, and regardless, there should be plenty of other huge nights ahead of us. Yes, we've had a reasonable draw up to now, especially with all 3 of the (bottom half) PL sides being at home, and in future times we may get a Man City or Chelsea away early doors, but there'll surely be more latter stage opportunities in the coming years, maybe the Europa League next season, so there does seem a bit less pressure if that makes sense. Just really looking forward to seeing us in a cup semi final (those under 25 won't have witnessed that before, crazy) regardless of who we get, and another exciting night for our club in a very exciting period.

Surprised it's been given the full one build up on Sky.

Weird situation for Arsenal with the draw being yesterday - it really should have been at 7pm today after the team news was in. They're obviously going great guns in the league, so will probably be focussing more on that, but they also know that they have the literal worst draw on paper in R4 (Man City away), so the chances of them making the L16 aren't particularly good. That said, they have a reasonable team out (away to Oxford), and a mix of regulars and fringe players - Martinelli, Saka, and Gabriel start who normally would, as well as Nketia who is very much a starter in Jesus' absence. Tomiyasu and Tierney probably count as one starter between them, so probably 5 first teamers out. The draw will surely have dampened their enthusiasm and ambitions generally though.

I can remember when Teddy first started posting here and it was exactly the same then. Seemed to come with decent intentions, but was never given a chance, goaded and antagonised quickly, so not much point continuing. It's a strange situation, obviously there's a rivalry, and most on here will naturally hope Sunderland lose most weeks and what not, but I also wouldn't mind a few more away fans on here, even Sunderland, especially if they're coming on with the intention to be objective, but just the nature of the forum makes this pretty unlikely, and regardless of why they have signed up, they'll almost certainly be shot down quickly by some.

Rodgers speaks well of Newcastle again in his latest press conference. Says it feels like a real occasion playing at SJP.

I have been browsing that forum since the news first broke, and did notice the season tickets / get the impression it might not be as easy as you'd generally suspect, but cheers, I might do that.

That is a hammer blow for Villa. Realistically, with the start they made, they're probably not going to finish above the usual 6 or Newcastle, and probably not Brighton either, nor will they get relegated, so you're looking at somewhere between 9th and 12th, and probably a lot of less meaningful matches around the 30 game mark. They've got this top manager in with knock out competition pedigree, and have already seen 2 of Chelsea/Man City/Arsenal going out before R5, as well as Newcastle, and many other PL clubs (2 of Liverpool/Wolves/Brighton will also exit). A very winnable R4 match at Stoke, so a real chance of making the last 16, and with the right draw, possibly a QF/SF, or a final. Ours obviously wasn't great either, but we had a generally accepted bigger cup tie 3 days later (won't be ideal if we exit their too), plus very much in the fight for top 4/6, but the FA Cup probably should have been their main focus for the rest of this season.

Can't beleive I didn't realise Villa were on the red button. Villa 1 Stevenage 2. Wow.

A max of 4 'big 6' sides in the last 16, and Liverpool won't be odds on to beat both Wolves and Brighton away, so may well be only 3. Tough for Chelsea, City away, and if they do come through, very likely to be Arsenal in the next round, whereas Leicester get a couple of 4th tier sides, including one who's rock bottom. It probably will be one of those 6 who end up lifting the trophy, but definitely a chance for a Leicester, Villa, Fulham type (midtable, and unlikely to go down) to make a very deep run.

Man City/Chelsea vs Oxford/Arsenal Man Utd vs Reading Fulham vs Sunderland Brighton vs Liverpool/Wolves Preston vs Spurs Sheff Wed vs Fleetwood

4th round draw coming up. Probably hoping some of the better sides are kept apart, but perhaps with toughish away matches.

Jak Alnwick

Huge moment. Pen to Leeds and Cardiff down to men men for the past 10 mins. Looking like either a full come back, or a replay for Leeds.

They look fairly weak at the back, but generally a strong Chelsea line up.