FA Cup schedule, results, draw date: Chelsea avoid upset while Abramovich sells team, Liverpool scrape through

Six of the FA Cup fifth rounds eight ties are done and dusted with Chelsea, Liverpool and Southampton all progressing to the business end of the world’s oldest cup competition.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool survived scares in ties they would have expected to win while Southampton won a hard fought all Premier League clash with West Ham.

On Tuesday, Championship side Middlesbrough established themselves as the stars of the show thus far. Chris Wilder and his players inflicted yet more misery on Antonio Conte, knocking Tottenham out of the competition and dooming them to another year without silverware. The Championship representatives will be joined in the hat by Crystal Palace and Manchester City, for whom Jack Grealish scored in a hard fought win away to Peterborough.

The remainder of the fifth round offers up undoubtedly the pick of the ties on Thursday, however, when non-league Boreham Wood travel to Goodison Park to face five-time winners Everton. Here is how you can watch the matches and what you need to know:

Results and fixtures

Tuesday, March 1
Peterborough United 0, Manchester City 2
Crystal Palace 2, Stoke City 1
Middlesbrough 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0

Wednesday, March 2
Luton Town 2, Chelsea 3
Southampton 3, West Ham United 1
Liverpool 2, Norwich City 0

Thursday, March 3
Everton vs. Boreham Wood, 3:15 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Monday, March 7
Nottingham Forest vs. Huddersfield Town, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Storylines

For Tottenham, the wait goes on. When Spurs last won silverware, Josh Coburn was five. Fourteen years later, he came off the bench to send a packed Riverside into ecstasy and Middlesbrough into the FA Cup quarterfinals. They will not be the only Championship side in the hat when the draw takes place on March 3; there will be at least one more representative from the second tier in the competition as Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town face off in the last tie, which has been pushed back beyond the weekend’s fixtures.

Moments before Chelsea’s game at Luton, Roman Abramovich announced his plans to sell the club, sending shockwaves around the club that clearly reverberated out to Kenilworth Road. Twice in the first half, the Championship side claimed the lead with goals from Reece Burke and Harry Cornick either side of Saul Niguez’s strike for the visitors. Thomas Tuchel’s side were far from convincing but got the job done in the second half as Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku found the net.

The Blues, Manchester City and Liverpool (comfortable victors over Norwich) are the clear favorites to lift the FA Cup in May, but could Southampton be the dark horse to win it all? They overcame West Ham in a battle of the Premier League’s top half, Romain Perraud opening the scoring with a stunning strike against the run of play. Though the Hammers battled back with Michail Antonio levelling, James Ward-Prowse struck from the spot in the second half before Armando Broja wrapped up in the win in stoppage time.

Meanwhile, Thursday brings with it a true FA Cup tie as Boreham Wood of the National League travel to storied Everton. The Hertfordshire side have already slain two giants (at least compared to them) in AFC Wimbledon and Championship high flyers Bournemouth. Everton are struggling in the Premier League, adding to the sense that this could be one of those famous games this competition specializes in.

“I’ve been here such a short period of time that we are still a work in progress,” said Frank Lampard. “It is another opportunity for us to keep improving. We don’t have to look to view it as anything other than another game to be better and to consider the opposition in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.

“There is no feeling that it’ll be fine, with incredible confidence. We are not there.”

Odds

FA Cup outright futures (via Caesars Sportsbook):

  • Man City +175
  • Liverpool +275
  • Chelsea +400
  • Southampton +1000
  • Everton +1000
  • Crystal Palace +1600

When is the FA Cup quarterfinal draw?

Date: Thursday, March 3 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
Location: Wembley Stadium — London, United Kingdom
TV: None | Live stream: ESPN+

Upcoming FA Cup schedule

  • Quarterfinal: Saturday, March 19
  • Semifinal: Saturday, April 16
  • Final: Saturday, May 14



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