Premier League & FA Cup

MIDDLESBROUGH vs
MANCHESTER CITY
The Riverside
FA Cup quarter final
Saturday, 12.15pm BT SPORT 2

Middlesbrough are in freefall. The club have failed to score in their last five
outings and their situation is fast becoming desperate.
Of course Premier League survival is their utmost priority this season, the Teesiders having slipped into the bottom three courtesy of a 2-0 loss at Stoke last weekend.
Will today’s quarter-final tie against Manchester City offer them some kind of reprieve? It’s unlikely. It might, though, afford them the chance to regroup and get back to basics. Scoring a goal would surely lift their spirits.
City, meanwhile, are on fire at the moment having scored 12 goals in their last three fixtures with the returning Sergio Aguero eager to make up for
lost time following his recent spell on the substitutes’ bench.
City should ease through here.

BOURNEMOUTH vs
WEST HAM
Vitality Stadium
Premier League
Saturday, 3pm

Hosts Bournemouth picked up a valuable point at Old Trafford last weekend but still remain without a win since the turn of the year.
The Cherries have taken just two points from a possible 21 and look a team short on confidence.
Their Premier League status is now under threat with club hovering just
five points above the drop zone. Victory this afternoon would move
them to within three points of opponents West Ham.
The Hammers were beaten 2-1 by champions elect Chelsea last Monday but will be hoping to bounce back here.

EVERTON vs
WEST BROM
Goodison Park
Premier League
Saturday, 3pm

Everton got the news they craved this week with confirmation that striker Romelu Lukaku has put pen to paper on a new five-year deal at Goodison
Park.
The Belgian international is the Premier League’s second top goalscorer with 18 so far this term, just one behind Spurs striker Harry Kane.
The Toffees encountered their first defeat in ten at Spurs last weekend and will be cautious of the fact that opponents West Brom could move to within a point of the Merseysiders in seventh where
they to suffer back-back-defeats.
The Baggies were beaten 2-0 by strugglers Crystal Palace last Saturday and manager Tony Pulis will be hoping for a better showing this time around.

ARSENAL vs
LINCOLN CITY
The Emirates
FA Cup quarter final
Saturday, 5.30pm BT SPORT 2

Arsene Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal for 21 years, but after a disastrous week his job is now on a very shoogly peg.
The Gunners were hammered at the Emirates on Tuesday - their second successive 5-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern - and should they crash out of the FA Cup at home to minnows Lincoln City, surely Wenger will be shown the door at the Emirates.
Arsenal find themselves in a similar situation to last month when they took on another non-league side - Sutton United - after being thrashed by Bayern in the first-leg. On that occasion, the Gunners returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win that safely saw them through to the next round.
They need to repeat the trick here. And they should manage it.
Even though Arsenal have lost five of their last seven games in all competitions, they are huge favourites to reach the semis, with home advantage only strengthening their chances of ending Lincoln's dream.
Lincoln will still be pinching themselves.
They are on the verge of rewriting
the history books should they produce an upset at the Emirates.
Irrespective of the outcome in North London, the Imps
have enjoyed quite a remarkable run in this season’s competition, a journey that began in October with a 2-1 win at divisional rivals Guiseley. They have also performed three giant-killing acts en route to the last eight having disposed of Championship sides Ipswich and Brighton and,
in the last round, Premier League outfit Burnley.
A showdown against Wenger’s Gunners doesn’t really get any better for Danny Cowley and his players. They are potentially now just 90 minutes from a trip to Wembley.

TOTTENHAM vs
MILLWALL
White Hart Lane
FA Cup quarter final
Sunday, 2pm BBC ONE

Tottenham are overwhelming favourites to progress to the last four at the expense of London rivals Millwall.
That’s not to say the Lions won’t make the short journey across the Capital and put up a valiant fight.
Hosts Spurs are in excellent form, none more so than Harry Kane, who tops the Premier League scoring charts with 19.
With Chelsea ten points better off than Mauricio Pochettino’s men at the summit, the FA Cup represents Spurs best chance of silverware this season and they will be hell bent on being in the hat for the semi-final
draw.
Neil Harris’ Millwall saw off another Premier League side in Leicester in
the previous round but this weekend is likely to be their last match in this
season’s competition.

CHELSEA vs
MANCHESTER UNITED
Stamford Bridge
FA Cup quarter final
Monday, 7.45pm BBC ONE

The tie of the round. Make no mistake about it.
Premier League leaders against recently crowned EFL League Cup winners.
This has all the makings of an absolute thriller on Monday night.
The home side are playing some majestic stuff and have done for the vast majority of the season. What an impression manager Antonio Conte has made since joining last summer.
Man United were happy to escape Russia injury-free after earning a 1-1 draw with Rostov on in their Europa League last-16 tie at the Olimp-2 stadium on Thursday.
On a problematic playing surface, Henrikh Mkhitaryan put Jose Mourinho's side ahead, with Aleksandr Bukharov equalising for the hosts after the break.

HULL CITY vs
SWANSEA CITY
KCOM Stadium
Premier League
Saturday, 3pm

Hull can’t seem to catch a break at the moment.
Marco Silva’s men occupy second bottom in the Premier League and
are four points from safety.
Last weekend’s damning defeat to champions and fellow strugglers Leicester will have been a bitter pill to swallow, however, for all their trials and tribulations, Hull have actually been playing some decent
stuff lately.
Opponents Swansea are another side hovering perilously close to the
drop zone but they did pick up a precious win against Burnley last weekend as Fernando Llorente pounced in injury time to prod home the winner.
This has a real six-pointer feeling to it and a match the home side simply cannot afford to lose. Expect tensions to be running high on Humberside and a good crowd to match.

LIVERPOOL vs
BURNLEY
Anfield
Premier League
Sunday, 4pm SKY SPORTS

The passion etched across Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s face each week cannot be ignored.
It was there for all to see as the Reds leapfrogged Arsenal into fourth spot
with a 3-1 victory over the Gunners seven days ago – just their second win in the league this year following a turbulent spell.
However, the club will now hope they can go and cement a top-four finish
which brings Champions League football next season.
Burnley failed to deliver a win in the league last month and also suffered the angst of crashing out to National League leaders Lincoln City in the
FA Cup.
It will take a momentous effort to change their fortunes here.