January 9 – FA Cup holders Manchester City have been drawn against Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the upcoming fourth round of the tournament.
The match, to be played on the weekend of 27 January 2024, will be hosted by Spurs, who beat Burnley 1-0 on Friday to progress to the next round of the competition.
Meanwhile, City cruised past Huddersfield in a 5-0 thrashing, which saw Belgian duo Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku return to action after long spells away with injury.
Pep Guardiola has frequently struggled versus Spurs, particularly away from home. The Spaniard has only won 8 out of 18 games against the North London outfit – a stretch from his side’s usual dominance.
In fact, Pep’s side is still yet to score a goal away at Spurs since the construction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019.
When the two sides met in at the Etihad in December, both teams escaped with a point after a six-goal thriller was concluded by a late equaliser from Spurs man Dejan Kulusevski.
Despite the favourable change of venue for the upcoming fixture, Spurs will be without star players Heung Min Son and Yves Bissouma as they represent their countries in the AFC Asian Cup and AFCON respectively. Meanwhile, City’s ranks have strengthened with the return of Kevin De Bruyne who will doubtlessly have a major impact on the remainder of City’s season.
The draw threw up a number of all Premier League clashes meaning the last 16 will feature a maximum of nine top tier clubs. Chelsea have been drawn against Aston Villa, Sheffield United face Brighton while Fulham will be at home to Newcastle United.
Elsewhere in the draw, the FA Cup’s lowest ranked side, Maidstone United, will face off against Championship high-fliers Ipswich in what will be a stern test for the non-league side.
Maidstone United progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup after defeating League One Stevenage 1-0 thanks to a first-half penalty converted by Sam Corne.
The non-leaguers reached the fourth round for the first time since 1992.
Meanwhile, the Tractor Boys booked their place in the next round with a 3-1 victory at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, setting up a fourth-round tie at Portman Road,
FA Cup fourth-round draw
Watford v Southampton
Blackburn Rovers v Wrexham
Bournemouth v Swansea City
West Brom v Brentford or Wolves
West Ham or Bristol City v Nottingham Forest or Blackpool
Leicester City v Hull City or Birmingham City
Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City
Chelsea v Aston Villa
Ipswich Town v Maidstone United
Liverpool v Norwich City or Bristol Rovers
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
Leeds United v Plymouth Argyle
Crystal Palace or Everton v Luton Town or Bolton Wanderers
Newport County or Eastleigh v Manchester United
Sheffield United v Brighton & Hove Albion
Fulham v Newcastle United
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1735092099labto1735092099ofdlr1735092099owedi1735092099sni@g1735092099niwe.1735092099yrrah1735092099