The English FA Cup quarter-final draw has been made on Wednesday night and the draw offers some huge Premier League battles. Defending champions Manchester City will travel to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United, while record winners Arsenal will take on Sheffield United.
Cup holders defeated Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 on Wednesday to reach the last eight, and the clash with Steve Bruce’s side is perhaps the most favorable of the fixtures. Pep Guardiola’s men will fancy the chance to add more silverware to the Carabao Cup they won after beating Aston Villa 2-1 on Sunday.
Speaking after City beat Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night, Guardiola said: “The important thing is that we are there. We want to be in the draw. We are in the draw,”
“It is the FA Cup. The league we cannot win. We have two titles, FA Cup and Champions League. We prepare for it and in the end we have success.”
Arsenal, who are 13-time winners, recorded a 2-0 victory at Portsmouth to advance have been dawn against another Premier League side, Sheffield United. The Blades were forced to extra-time against Reading, where a Billy Sharp goal sent them through.
Both teams are competing for the Premier League top four and will now take battle in another competition. The Blades have been having a good season in the league while the Gunners have been inconsistent this campaign.
In other quarter-final fixtures, Chelsea, who were the champions in 2018, will travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City in an intriguing affair. The match is one of the three Premier League battles and both Brendan Rodgers and Frank Lampard would have liked to avoid each other.
The Blues produced an outstanding display to see off Liverpool to reach this round, while the Foxes left it late to defeat a stubborn Birmingham City 1-0 to reach the quarters.
The final match will see Norwich host either Manchester United or Derby which will be played on Thursday evening. Norwich defeated Tottenham on penalty shootout at Tottenham Stadium with Tim Krul proving to be the hero as he saved from Troy Parrott and Gedson Fernandes.
While the Canaries face the prospect of a home tie with Manchester United if the Red Devils can see off Wayne Rooney and Derby. The former United striker will return to Old Trafford for the first time since leaving United, with the 34-year-old already netted three goals and made two assists since returning to English football with Derby.
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March.
FA Cup quarter-final draw
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
