FA CUP Fourth Round: Cup Run to give wobbly man Utd Hope?

It’s the FA Cup fourth round this weekend, and the effort is high for clubs, players, leaders and owners desperate to keep alive their hope for success this season – such as Manchester United, Tottenham, Marcus RashfordRuud van Nistelrooy and of course Tom Brady.

The fourth round is about heavyweight clashes, and the remaining small beings aimed at causing a rebellion against a Premier League giant.

Can Ruben Amorim and one United avoid an embarrassing Old Trafford output against Van Nistelrooy’s fighting Leicester City? Who will be standing after Aston Villa and Spurs meet on Sunday? Can Plymouth Argyle Ende Liverpool’s hope of a quadruple in Arne Slot’s first season with responsibility? And will Brady, Birmingham City Minority Owner, get the Super Bowl weekend off to a winning start by watching his EFL League One Team Shock Newcastle United?

With all fourth round ties Live at ESPN+Here are stories and potential shocks to look for.

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The FA Cup holders began the defense of their title with a penalty kick away to Arsenal in the third round. They will be strong favorites to beat a Leicester team that has lost eight of 12 games under Van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy landed the Leicester job last November after a four-game Stint as caretaker manager at United after the dismissal of Erik Ten Hag. United won three of these four games – two against Leicester – and they will be motivated to seal a hat trick with home wins against Foxes this season.

But while former United striker Van Nistelrooy has struggled to inspire a wealth change at Leicester and won only three of his twelve matches so far, Amorim is also a lasting nightmare at Old Trafford and United’s series in all competitions Leicester Hope. Many United fans wanted Van Nistelrooy to be handed over to the job of succeeding with ten Hag permanently, but even though his time in Leicester has been miserable so far, do not rule out a shockfox’s victory that elaborates United’s gloom.

In normal times, this tie would be a little more than a routine vault victory for Pep Guardiola’s all -sore city against a lower league team dreaming of an unlikely uprising, but League One Side Leyton Orient is chasing promotion from the third level and is not short self -confidence – In contrast to their wobbly opponents.

Sunday’s 5-1 defeat in Arsenal was City’s 11. Loss in their last 22 matches in all competitions as Guardiola holds his worst race ever as manager. A dangerous trip to East London has the potential for another setback for the city.

Orient President Nigel Travis, a lifelong supporter now based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a former CEO of Dunkin ‘Donuts, giving the potential for lots of embarrassing headlines waiting for the city if they lose Saturday. Travis has spent the last two years seeking new investments in the Orient-a high-profile clash against the city in the first meeting of the clubs since May 1966 provides an opportunity for the website to win big on and off the field.

This game may initially look like one of the less exciting bonds in the round, but the clash between the Premier League Bottom Club Southampton and the EFL Championship High Flyers Burnley is actually an important indicator of the rising Gulf between the two divisions.

The two clubs swapped places last season, with Burnley moved from the top flight and Saints promoted from the championship via the playoffs. Last season was the first time since 1998 that all three promoted teams – Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United – were relieved from the Premier League at the first attempt, and Southampton and Leicester were promoted last season after only one season in the championship.

In the third round, Southampton made easy work with championship team Swansea City, but they have only won two Premier League matches throughout the season. If Ivan Jurić’s team beats Burnley over the weekend, it suggests that the gap between a fighting Premier League team and confident championship page is getting bigger.

This is a clash between two major clubs in the hope of a bright future following the recent ownership changes. But while Newcastle is developing into a Premier League force after he was taken over by Saudi -Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in October 2021, Birmingham suffered a shock relegation to League one after being purchased by the US Group Knighthead Capital Management -a collection of investors that include Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner-I July 2023.

After early mistakes, including hiring Wayne Rooney as manager before his dismissal after only four months of catastrophic results, Birmingham is now up and on course for promotion as winners of League One. With £ 15 million summer signing Jay Stansfield, who topped the club’s scoring charts with 16 goals this season, Birmingham has the fire and shape to draw a disturbance.

Newcastle, just three days after Arsenal faces in the second stage of the Carabao Cup semi -final, could be vulnerable to a shock at St. Andrew’s.

When these two teams last met in January 2017, Plymouth secured a third round of repetition by holding Liverpool to a 0-0 draw on Anfield before a Lucas Leiva goal sealed a narrow 1-0 win for Jürgen Klopp’s team in the second Play on home park.

Plymouth was a league two page in 2016-17 and has since climbed to the championship, but they go into the clash against Slots Premier League leaders, after his dismissal from Birmingham, lost his second job in a calendar year-last month.

On paper, this tie is a mismatch and Liverpool should win comfortably, although slot makes changes due to the game being squeezed between the second stage of the Carabao Cup semi -final against Spurs and next Wednesday’s re -planned Merseyside Derby against Everton at Goodison Park. Plymouth enters the game after gathering four points from games against promotion-hunting Sunderland and West BromHowever, so this might just be a tie that catches everyone surprising.

Although this is a clash between two of the biggest and most historic clubs in England – also two teams that have long been dilapidated a trophy – Sunday’s draw at Villa Park about Rashford and his probable debut for Aston Villa. Rashford sealed a loan relocation from Manchester United to villa after falling out of advantage under Amorim at Old Trafford, and the 27-year-old has plenty to prove after a long period of decline at United.

Can he rediscover the magic in a villa shirt? Rashford has previously scored on his debut for United and England, so it would be a way to start the same in a big FA Cup tilt against Tottenham.

Villa has not won a big trophy since the EFL Cup from 1996, while Tottenham’s silverware droughts extend back to a victory in 2008 in the same competition, so the importance of this season’s FA Cup for both sides is ready.