Our cup runneth over: Five reasons why the FA Cup has been a treat this season
If unpredictability is at the heart of the FA Cup’s appeal then there is much to love about how this season’s competition is unfolding and the composition of the last eight.
For the first time in five years – and only the second time in a decade – there will be just two teams from the Premier League’s Big Six in the quarter-finals: Manchester City and the winners of Monday’s clash between Chelsea and Manchester United.
This diversity is a refreshing change for a tournament that has come to be increasingly dominated by the elite.
Just twice in 23 years has a non-Big Six club lifted the trophy – Wigan in 2013 and Portsmouth in 2008 – a far cry from the 1970s, when nine different teams won the FA Cup, including Sunderland, Ipswich and Southampton.
Upsets
Another rarity: there will be multiple clubs from outside the top flight in the sixth round this year, after Swansea followed fellow Championship dwellers and arch giant-killers Millwall into the hat.
Millwall’s 1-0 win over third-tier AFC Wimbledon on Saturday may not have pleased the romantics, but as long as the fourth-round conquerors of Everton are in the draw there will be the sniff of another upset.
This year’s FA Cup has already been a vintage year for shocks, with Wimbledon hitting four past West Ham, managerless Oldham stunning Fulham at Craven Cottage and Newport County making it to the last 16. The last-eight line-up suggests there could be more to come.
Storylines
While upsets have contributed to the bulk of the plentiful storylines in the competition this season, there was another to savour even as one of the heroes, Newport, exited on Saturday.
The League Two outfit, who saw off Leicester and Middlesbrough, played their part in the tie of the round so far, a Saturday evening showdown with City, the champions of England.
Pep Guardiola’s men, who have dished out 7-0 and 9-0 thrashings to Rotherham and Burton Albion in cup ties this year, couldn’t find a way past Newport for 51 minutes at Rodney Parade.
Ultimately they did, however, and the 4-1 win denied home goalkeeper Joe Day – who won hearts by racing off the pitch to be at the birth of his twin girls in the previous round – a fairytale result.
Instead the day belonged to another fresh face: Phil Foden, the 18-year-old City academy graduate, who lit up his most accomplished senior performance yet with two classy individual goals.
Chances for the nearly teams
A relative dearth of big fish spells opportunity for the other remaining Premier League sides, who each have compelling narratives behind their progress to the quarter-finals.
Wolves, who won the last of their four FA Cups in 1960, have already exceeded expectations with a supremely assured first season back in the top flight and beat Liverpool in round three.
A cup run is proving to be relief from the drudgery of terrible league form at Brighton. Their only final appearance came in 1983, when they took United to a replay.
The following year was Watford’s turn to reach their one and only final, but the Hornets, too, remain in within a chance of another shot at a maiden piece of major silverware.
Palace have fallen at the last hurdle twice, most recently in 2016. Sunday’s 2-0 win at Doncaster means they are just two more victories from landing another attempt.
Intrigue at the top teams
Even if the unpredictability evaporates and one of the three Big Six clubs takes home the trophy again, each would provide a fascinating storyline.
For City, the FA Cup could be the third leg in a treble or even unprecedented quadruple haul of top honours.
For United, a third final appearance in four years would add to intrigue surrounding Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s hopes of retaining the manager’s job beyond his current short-term contract.
And finally, for Chelsea, a cup triumph would represent a measure of vindication or at least restored pride for coach Maurizio Sarri, whose long-term future in west London looks uncertain. Our cup runneth over.