There seems nothing fluky about Brighton’s surge up to sixth place in the Premier League and they are hard to oppose when hosting Bournemouth. Albion have been playing great football and scoring goals for fun, while the Cherries have been heading rapidly towards relegation trouble.
Manchester United have won 12 straight home games in all competitions and can extend that sequence when entertaining Crystal Palace. The Eagles have not been easy to break down on the road this term, but also don’t score many goals in Premier League away matches.
Southampton will hope to make up for their Carabao Cup disappointment by easing their relegation fears when they go to Brentford on Saturday. Saints missed out on a trip to Wembley after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Newcastle and have played three cup ties since they were last in Premier League action.
Aston Villa have made great progress under Unai Emery and are backed to complete a hat-trick of Premier League wins by beating Leicester. The Foxes enjoyed a welcome FA Cup success at Walsall over the weekend but have gone five top-flight fixtures without tasting victory.
Chelsea face a quick rematch with Fulham after recently losing to their west London neighbours for the first time since 2006. The Blues had won seven straight head-to-head meetings before that 2-1 Craven Cottage defeat and will be keen to see normal service resumed here.
Newcastle are holding all the aces in their EFL Cup semi-final clash with Southampton ahead of Tuesday’s second leg at St James’ Park. The Magpies prevailed 1-0 in last week’s opening encounter at St Mary’s Stadium and are unbeaten on home turf so far this season.
Liverpool should travel to Brighton for Sunday’s televised FA Cup fourth-round tie fully fired up on two fronts. The Reds are determined to retain the trophy they won last term and will also be eyeing revenge for a recent 3-0 Premier League drubbing at this venue.
Wrexham and Sheffield United are both on course for promotion from their respective divisions but put those ambitions on hold as they meet in the FA Cup fourth round. Wrexham are three points clear at the top of the National League while United are second in the Championship.
Derby head into Monday night’s FA Cup clash with West Ham in great spirits and will fancy their chances of being competitive. The Rams hammered Barnsley 3-0 in the last round and are on a 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions, including a stalemate at Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
Accrington only booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round on Tuesday night so have had little time to prepare for the visit of Premier League side Leeds. To make matters worse, Stanley needed extra time to get past National League outfit Boreham Wood so the quick turnaround will do them no favours.
Antonio Conte doesn’t tend to take too many chances with the strength of his FA Cup selections, so Tottenham should be too good for Preston. The Italian lifted this trophy when in charge of Chelsea and is expected to target another decent run with Spurs this season.
Man Utd have all but booked one trip to Wembley this season in the EFL Cup and can march on in the FA Cup by easing past Reading. These teams have met twice in this competition since the Royals were last a Premier League club, with United prevailing 4-0 in 2017 and 2-0 four years ago.
Tottenham suffered a second-half collapse versus Man City but had shown enough to suggest they can prove too strong for Fulham again. Spurs have won seven of the last eight meetings between these teams and have prevailed on six straight trips to Craven Cottage.
Leeds enjoyed a welcome boost when beating Cardiff in the FA Cup on Wednesday but may find Brentford much more formidable foes at Elland Road. The Bees have picked up 13 points out of 15 from their last five Premier League matches and thrashed the Whites 5-2 at home earlier this season.