Garnacho gets his chance to stake a claim, a big day for Port Vale and more scheduling concerns for Guardiola
Who would have thought approaching mid-March Wolves would be the Midlands team – at least in the Premier League – with the most to cheer? Aston Villa, while fourth and still capable of securing a place in the Champions League, are wobbling. Nottingham Forest are fighting relegation. In the Championship, Coventry are at the summit but West Brom and Leicester are in danger of dropping into League One. Wolves and third-tier Mansfield are the only Midlands sides remaining in the FA Cup and, while the latter host Arsenal, the former may quietly fancy their chances when Liverpool visit Molineux for the second time in four days. Rob Edwards’s side triumphed on Tuesday and, while it got lost amid the stoppage-time drama, he made several changes with Friday’s Cup tie in mind. “Does it have to be one or the other?” Edwards said. “No, so we are going to try and win both. It is going to be a really exciting night.” Ben Fisher
Wolves v Liverpool, Friday 8pm (all kick-offs GMT)
Mansfield v Arsenal, Saturday 12.15pm
Wrexham v Chelsea, Saturday 5.45pm
Newcastle v Manchester City, Saturday 8pm
Written by Guardian sport
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/06/fa-cup-fifth-round-things-to-look-out-for-this-weekend under the title “FA Cup fifth round: things to look out for this weekend”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
