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FA Cup fifth round draw

By Joe Prince-WrightJan 27, 2020, 2:35 PM EST

The draw for the FA Cup fifth round has been made and a potential clash between Chelsea and Liverpool has been set up.

[ LIVE: Follow all the FA Cup scores here ]

If Liverpool’s youngsters (sans Jurgen Klopp and their first team) get past third-tier Shrewsbury Town in their fourth round replay they will travel to Chelsea, while holders Man City will travel to second tier Sheffield Wednesday.

Man United will travel to either Northampton Town or Derby County as they could face former United legend Wayne Rooney, while Portsmouth (the lowest ranked team left in the competition) will host either Bournemouth or Arsenal.

Southampton or Tottenham will host Norwich City in the only guaranteed all-Premier League last 16 clash.

To help ease fixture congestion for Premier League clubs and due to their week off for a mid-season player break (even if if didn’t work out like that for Liverpool, Tottenham, Southampton and Newcastle United due to fourth round replays) the fifth round will be played across three midweek evenings on Mar. 3-5.

There will also be no replays from the fifth round onwards in the FA Cup, as the games will go to extra time and penalty kicks, if needed, if the scores are level.

Below is the draw in full for the fifth round.

Sheffield Wednesday v. Manchester City

Reading or Cardiff City v. Sheffield United

Chelsea v. Shrewsbury Town or Liverpool

West Bromwich Albion v. Newcastle United or Oxford United

Leicester City v. Coventry City or Birmingham City

Northampton Town or Derby County v. Manchester United

Southampton or Tottenham Hotspur v. Norwich City

Portsmouth v. Bournemouth or Arsenal

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LIVE, FA Cup: Bournemouth v. Arsenal

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By Joe Prince-WrightJan 27, 2020, 1:53 PM EST

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Bournemouth host Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round on Monday (kick off, 3 p.m. ET) as the Cherries and Gunners will both fancy their chances of a lengthy cup run.

[ LIVE: Follow Bournemouth-Arsenal ]

In all honesty, both Eddie Howe and Mikel Arteta could do without this game as they aim to improve their position in the Premier League table.

Bournemouth picked up a vital win against Brighton last time out to push themselves towards safety, while Arsenal picked up a morale-boosting draw at Chelsea after playing for over an hour with 10 men.

Howe and Arteta will acknowledge that their main aim is to stay in the Premier League and finish in the top four respectively but both will be extremely tough in the final months of the season.

It is always tough to strike the balance about how serious to take the FA Cup for teams in tough situations in the PL but more often than not the competition is a bit of a distraction for players as league form goes out of the window.

Arteta’s first game in charge of Arsenal was a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth in December and this will be a tight, tough game down in the wind and rain on the England’s south coast.

Success in cup competitions will likely save Arsenal’s dismal season as Arteta’s banged up side have shown plenty of hunger in recent weeks and an FA Cup and Europa League double would certainly salvage plenty of pride from the 2019-20 campaign.

That said, there is still a long, long way to go for Arsenal.

Click on the link above to follow the action as it happens, while we have you covered right here on Pro Soccer Talk with the reaction and analysis on the final game of the fourth round.

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Transfer rumor roundup: Mari to Arsenal; Defoe makes permanent Rangers move

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By Joel SoriaJan 25, 2020, 11:40 PM EST

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A roundup of all of Saturday’s biggest transfer rumors, including those involving Premier League outfits.

[ MORE: Premier League January transfer needs ]

Arsenal are reportedly hours from adding a defender to Mikel Arteta‘s squad.

Flamengo’s Pablo Mari has reportedly arrived in London and set for a medical at Arsenal, Sky Sports reports. The 26-year-old Spaniard will join the North London side for the remainder of the season with an option to buy.

It won’t be Mari’s first time signing for a Premier League side, however.

In 2016, the center-back signed with Manchester City, but never featured for the defending champions, instead making appearances for Girona, NAC and Deportivo La Coruna on loan.

Jermaine Defoe is not returning to Bournemouth.

On Saturday, Rangers announced that Defoe signed a pre-contract to join Rangers on permanent basis in the summer.

The storied 37-year-old English striker has 20 goals in 57 appearances since joining the Scottish giants last January on a 18-month loan. Defoe’s new contract runs through the 2020-21 season, a one-year deal.

“It’s fantastic news,” Rangers manager Steven Gerrard told the club’s website. “It’s something we have been working on over the weeks and it is great to finally get that done and dusted.”

“He is an incredible professional with the way he goes about his work on and off the pitch – he is a credit to himself and his family. And also on the pitch, which is the main thing. He is still contributing heavily – he is a major part of this group, this team and this squad and hopefully together we can go and share some success as I think he deserves that.”

This season, Defoe has scored 16 goals in 28 games.

Crystal Palace are in talks to sign Belgium international Yannick Carrasco, according to Sky Sports.

Carrasco, 26, wants to leave Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang and is currently training in Belgium, ahead of a return to European play.

Carrasco has scored 24 goals in 52 appearances since making a move to China from Atletico Madrid in February 2018.

Norwich City are actively pursuing Danel Sinani, according to the Daily Mail.

The 22-year-old Luxembourg winger is out of contract with Luxembourg side FC Dudelange this summer. If the parties involved can’t reach a deal this week, the Canaries are reportedly ready to propose a pre-contract agreement.

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FA Cup fourth round preview, score picks

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By Joe Prince-WrightJan 24, 2020, 2:22 PM EST

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The FA Cup fourth round is here as we are down to the final 32 teams in the oldest knockout competition in the world.

[ LIVE: All the FA Cup scores here ]

There are some intriguing storylines set up for the games across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday as Liverpool and Man United face tricky trips to lower-league opponents, while Southampton host Tottenham, Norwich head to Burnley and Arsenal travel to Bournemouth in two all-PL ties.

Brentford hosting Leicester is one for the purists, while West Brom, Millwall, Hull City and Oxford will all fancy their chances of knocking out their Premier League opponents as plenty of teams will rotate their squads.

Below we reveal our score predictions for each game, while you can follow all of the action live by clicking on the link above.

FRIDAY

Northampton Town 0-3 Derby County – 3 p.m. ET
QPR 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday – 3 p.m. ET

SATURDAY (all 10 a.m. ET kick offs unless otherwise stated)

Brentford 1-2 Leicester – 7:30 a.m. ET
Burnley 3-1 Norwich City
Coventry City 1-3 Birmingham City
Millwall 1-1 Sheffield United
Newcastle United 2-0 Oxford United
Portsmouth 2-1 Barnsley
Reading 2-0 Cardiff City
Southampton 1-1 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 West Brom
Hull City 1-3 Chelsea – 12:30 p.m. ET

SUNDAY

Man City 2-2 Fulham – 8 a.m. ET
Tranmere 1-3 Man United – 10 a.m. ET
Shrewsbury 1-4 Liverpool – 12 p.m. ET

MONDAY

Bournemouth 1-2 Arsenal – 3 pm E.T.

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Transfer rumor roundup: Rose in demand; Matviyenko to Arsenal

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By Joe Prince-WrightJan 24, 2020, 1:41 PM EST

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With just one week to go until the January transfer window shuts, things are heating up across the Premier League as clubs prepare to shuffle their packs and have a roll of the dice ahead of the final months of the season.

[ MORE: Premier League schedule ]

Here’s a look at some of the latest rumors popping up around the PL.

Watch our transfer deadline day show from 6-8 p.m. ET on Jan. 31, live on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com.

Danny Rose is a man in demand as the Tottenham left back has reportedly fallen out with Jose Mourinho.

Rose, 29, has just over a year left on his current Spurs contract and has already publicly stated that he intents to run it down as chairman Daniel Levy hasn’t offered him a new deal.

Given his current situation as youngster Japhet Tanganga has held down the left back spot in recent weeks, multiple reports claim that Newcastle, Bournemouth and Watford are all said to be interested in Rose’s experience at left back. Newcastle boss Steve Bruce was very complimentary of Rose when asked about a possible loan move for the man who has been at Spurs for 12 years.

The England international will be keen to play in the second part of the season as he tries to seal his spot in Gareth Southgate‘s Three Lions squad for EURO 2020 and although giving up Champions League action and a top four push will be tough, playing regularly has to be his aim and it doesn’t seem like that will happen at Spurs.

Watford have Adam Mesina filing in at left back with Jose Holebas out injured, while Newcastle have big injury problems in that area with Jetro Willems and Paul Dummett both out for the rest of the season. As for Bournemouth, Charlie Daniels remans out and Sergio Rico has had an up and down time.

Newcastle would seem like a smart move for Rose who could play as a left wing back and he would be urged to get forward and join attacks whenever he felt like it. The Magpies are also well clear of the relegation scrap which would mean he could enjoy himself a little more and provide an attacking outlet for Bruce’s side.

At this stage of his career whoever does sign Rose, if he leaves Spurs, would be getting a vastly experienced professional who is solid defensively and capable of delivering moments of quality in the final third, even if his best days seem long gone.

Heading across north London and Arsenal have been linked with Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine center back Mykola Matviyenko.

The 23-year-old can operate as a left-sided center back and Arsenal certainly need an extra option in that area of the pitch after Callum Chambers’ season-ending injury and the erratic form of Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz and Sokratis.

According to his agent Matviyenko would be available on loan for the rest of this season and Shakhtar are reportedly asking for a transfer fee in excess of $40 million for the defender who has been key to their success and Ukraine reaching EURO 2020 this summer.

Mikel Arteta remained tight-lipped when asked directly about Matviyenko in his latest press conference but he has confirmed all January long that the Gunners are looking to sign new central defenders. Jerome Boateng, John Stones and Dayot Upamecano have all been linked with a move to Arsenal but maybe Matviyenko is the best fit for Arteta’s men.

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