The Round of 16........

Harlow football fans....

There’s no EPL(or is it BPL now?) matches this weekend…so all you fantasy football managers’ out there can just sit back and not worry if your players are injured or suspended and if any team is taking on Derby so you can score more points.

This week is all about one of the oldest cup competition in the world, The FA Cup and it is the round of 16. There are surprisingly only 6 Premier league teams in this round and we might end up with only one top flight team in the quarter final after all the matches are played. Hmmm….that would definitely be interesting but would be a big disaster for the TV stations lah…honestly, who nak tengok a Preston V Huddersfield final? Personally, I wouldn’t.

It is really hard nak review some of the matches cos kat Malaysia ni we don’t get a chance to actually watch some of the teams like Bristol Rovers or Cardiff play every week. So, kenalah buat research sikit about the teams, their current performance and their players so I can give a fair review, for people who care lah. For those who don’t give a damn, it will actually be a good read before u go to sleep u know. The missus can attest to that claim.

So here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Bristol Rovers (League 1) V Southampton (Championship)
Venue: The Memorial Stadium

Bristol Rovers had not lost at home and only lost once in all competition since the turn of the year while Southampton form took a dip since beating Bury in the round of 32 in the FA cup. The Saints had failed to win in the last 4 games, losing 3 out of the 4.

According to form, The Pirates have the upper hand and looks good to make it to the quarter finals which they last achieved in 1958. It will be a close game as Southampton is in the league above with a few players who have experience performing in the big stage but I do think Bristol will pull it through especially with their good home record so far.

Score Prediction: Pirates to win 2-1

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Bristol Rovers – QF 1951, 1958
Southampton – Winners 1976

FA Cup Head to Head record – Bristol Rover 1W, 0D, Southampton 2W

Last match - 1980/81 Round 4 Southampton 3 Bristol Rovers 1


Cardiff City (Championship) V Wolverhampton Wanderers (Championship)
Venue: Ninian Park

Cardiff is just above Wolves in the Championship only due to goal difference. It will be a hard fought match and The Bluebirds would definitely want to avenge their defeat at home in the league back in October. Cardiff does have Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the squad and he will definitely be a threat to the Wolves defence and luckily for them Robbie “The God” Fowler will not be involved due to hip injury.

It is a hard match to call with both sides is aiming for that money spinning quarter final place. I think it will be a hard fought English football style draw.

Score Prediction: It will be a 0-0 or 1-1 draw

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Cardiff City – Winners 1927
Wolves – Winners 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960

FA Cup Head to Head record – Cardiff 1W, 1D, Wolves 1W

Last match – 1920/21 Semi-final (R) Cardiff 1 Wolves 3


Chelsea (Premiership) V Huddersfield (League 1)
Venue: Stamford Bridge

Huddersfield is the lowest ranking team left in the competition and their wonderful run look set to be ended in this round. Chelsea will be too good for the Terriers and will be hoping that it will not be a drubbing. Chelsea is facing Olympiacos in mid-week so they might be taking it easy after scoring the 2nd goal.

It will be an easy win for Chelsea but Huddersfield with Frank Sinclair, the former FA Cup winner with Chelsea back in 1997, will try to tackle their way into Chelsea’s defence.

Score Prediction: A 3-0 win for The Blues.

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Chelsea – Winners 1970, 1997, 2000, 2007
Huddersfield – Winners 1922

FA Cup Head to Head record – Chelsea 3W, 1D, Huddersfield 1W

Last match – 2005/06 Round 3 Chelsea 2 Huddersfield 1


Liverpool (Premiership) V Barnsley (Championship)
Venue: Anfield

Liverpool is playing at home against a mid-table Championship team…any fool would be crazy to bet against The Reds losing. Liverpool is virtually out of the league title race and facing a rather daunting task of trying to get past the mighty Inter Milan in the last 16 round of the Champions League, it does seems like that the FA Cup might provide them with a silverware for a clearly disappointing season after a promising start.

The Tykes are struggling away from home and Anfield is a tough place to go. It would definitely be good for them to look at what Havant & Waterloo did well in the last round and maybe take advantage of Liverpool having one eye on the Inter match. But I do believe Liverpool are just too good for the Tykes and will book their place in the last 8.

Score Prediction: Liverpool 3 Barnsley 0

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Liverpool – Winners 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2006
Barnsley – Winners 1912

FA Cup Head to Head record – Liverpool 4W, 1D, Barnsley 0W

Last match – 1984/85 Round 6 Barnsley 0 Liverpool 4


Coventry City(Championship) V West Bromwich Albion (Championship)
Venue: Ricoh Arena

Another all Championship match in the cards and the last time West Brom visited Ricoh Arena, they came away with a 4-0 win. If you take into account their league position, West Brom does have the upper hand. While The Baggies are chasing for a promotion, The Sky Blues are fighting their way out of the relegation zone but suprisingly they are doing well in cup cempetitions this season. They had beaten Man Utd at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup tie and also beaten Blackburn Rovers 4-1 in the 3rd round.

West Brom form has not been at its best latelt and Coventry seems to a different opposition in the cup. So I am going for a win for the Sky Blues. Who knows they might get Man Utd in the next round and beat them for a place in the semi final? Who knows?

Score Prediction: They met twice in the league and both had been high scoring games. I don’t think it will be the same as the stakes are different here. Im going for a 2-1 win for the Sky Blues.


Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Coventry – Winners 1987
West Brom – Winners 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968

FA Cup Head to Head record – Coventry 2W, 2D, West Brom 3W

Last match – 1994/95 Round 3(R) West Brom 1 Coventry 2


Man Utd (Premiership) V Arsenal (Premiership)
Venue: Old Trafford

Everyone in the world is looking forward to this game after the draw was made. After this match, one of the team have to say goodbye to their treble dream. Man Utd is suffering a little set back in recent weeks after only able to take 1 point from the last two league matches and the derby lost was definitely a kick to the mouth for United. Arsenal took advantage of the situation and opened up a 5 points lead in the league. Arsenal are riding high on confidence and looking for another great performance at the Old Trafford.

Man Utd will look to this game to erase their recent poor run and put pressure on The Gunners and will hope they can beat The Red Devils to further dent the team confidence and morale. This may be a different competition but many sees that the winner of this match will carry on the momentum to win the league title. It will be a display of two top marksmen in the league so far in the form of Devil's Ronaldo and Gunner's Adebayor. Both looking to add on to their amazing goal tally.

A replay is definitely a no-no for both teams with the amount of important games ahead. It is a tough game to call and the head to head record showed both team are par with each other but I think United might nick this one. Rooney is back and he will bring that sting and spirit that was definitely lost in that derby match. His performance will be the difference to seperate the two sides in this match.

Score Prediction: A hard fought and interesting 1-0 win to United.

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Man Utd – Winners 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
Arsenal – Winners 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005

FA Cup Head to Head record – Man Utd 5W, 2D, Arsenal 5W

Last match - 2004/2005 Final Arsenal 0 Man Utd 0 (Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties)


Sheffield United (Championship) V Middlesbrough (Premiership)
Venue: Bramall Lane

Losing your manager before an important match is not ideal for any team but The Blades will have to deal with it. The new manager, Blackwell, will hope that the couple of days he had with the team will be enough to tackle another premiership team. They had knocked out Bolton and Man City from the competition and will definitely hope Boro will be added to that list.

Boro had not lost in the last 7 games and seems to turn their luck around since the new year. They had secured an important player for the team when Downing signed a new 5 year-deal and that would definitely lift up the team. With Alliadiare looking like a re-born player up front, Boro looks set to add more misery to the Blades.

Score Prediction: Downing to score in a 2-1 win for Boro.

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Sheffield Utd – Winners 1899, 1902, 1915, 1925
Middlesbrough – Runners Up 1997

FA Cup Head to Head record – Sheffield Utd 1W, 1D, M’boro 0W

Last match - 1922/23 Round 2(R) Sheffield Utd 3 M’boro 0

Preston North End (C) V Portsmouth (P)
Venue: Deepdale

Preston was the surprise winner from the last round when they beat Premiership side Derby…hmmm….ok lah, kira a surprise. But Portsmouth is a different side from the sorry Derby. With their African stars back in the team, Pompey will sail through this round. It will be a heart breaking end for the once an invincible team but they are just not good enough. It will be smarter to concentrate on their relegation dog fight in the Championship.

Score Prediction: Preston 0 Portsmouth 2

Facts:
Best Achievement in the FA Cup:
Preston – Winners 1889, 1938
Portsmouth – Winners 1939

FA Cup Head to Head record – Portsmouth 2W, 0D, Preston 1W

Last match - 1947/48 Round 4 Portsmouth 1 Preston 3