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FA Cup draw

FA Cup QF draw: Man City, Man Utd avoid derby showdown

By Andy EdwardsFeb 18, 2019, 4:52 PM EST
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Manchester City and Manchester United were handed what should be comfortable draws for the quarterfinal round of the 2018-19 FA Cup on Monday, with the only undesirable tie one that would have drawn the only two remaining giants together.

[ FA CUP: Paul Pogba scores, assists as Man Utd bounce Chelsea (video) ]

The defending Premier League champions will travel to south Wales, where they’ll take on Championship side Swansea City the weekend beginning March 16. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s side will travel to Molineux Stadium for what a should be a trickier, all-PL tie with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In the other all-PL matchup, Watford will host Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road. Brighton & Hove Albion will be away to the other remaining Championship side, Millwall.

Full FA Cup quarterfinals draw

Swansea City v. Manchester City
Watford v. Crystal Palace
Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Manchester United
Millwall v. Brighton & Hove Albion

Capoue volley puts Watford into FA Cup quarterfinals

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By Kyle BonnFeb 15, 2019, 4:48 PM EST
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The 2018/19 FA Cup has its first quarterfinal team in the form of Watford after Etienne Capoue scored a bouncing volley on the stroke of halftime to top Queens Park Rangers 1-0.

Both sides proved wasteful as the 18 total combined shots produced just two on target, but that was all Watford needed to move on in London.

QPR led the corner count with five to Watford’s three, but the Hornets used the set-pieces to earn its goal in first-half stoppage time. Taking a short corner to work the ball onto the left foot of Tom Cleverley, the looping ball into the box found Massimo Luongo, and while his shot struck a teammate, it rebounded right to Capoue standing laterally from the original shot, and he leg-whipped the ball to produce a bouncer that wrong-footed Joe Lumley and found the far corner.

The hosts probably should have been level as regulation wound down, but Toni Leistner’s sliding effort to meet a cross by Darnell Furlong somehow went wide.

Watford’s spot in the quarterfinals is just their fourth appearance this deep in the FA Cup since a three-year stretch from 1985 to 1988 where they made it all three times. However, since 1988, all three appearances in the quarterfinals have seen the Hornets progress to the semis, including in 2016 when they topped Arsenal.

FA Cup preview: Lampard hopes for upset; Chelsea host Man Utd

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
By Nicholas MendolaFeb 15, 2019, 1:28 PM EST
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The FA Cup’s fifth round kicks off with some underdogs and finishes with a pair of giants.

That first match, QPR versus Watford at Loftus Road, kicks off at 2:45 p.m. ET Friday, with the Championship hosts hoping to overrun Abdoulaye Doucoure and the visiting Hornets.

[ LIVE: Follow all the FA Cup scores here ]

The weekend was scheduled nicely by the FA, with only one match conflicting with another via a Sunday morning 11 a.m. kickoff.

There are no signs that any of the Premier League sides are taking this lightly, including Pep Guardiola’s claims that Newport County is a more physical side than his City.

There’s a guarantee of at least two non-PL sides in the quarterfinals, and either Chelsea or Manchester United will not be alive for the FA Cup title come Monday evening.

United will have neither Anthony Martial nor Jesse Lingard against a Chelsea side capable of looking unbeatable… or flat-out terrible.

Maybe Frank Lampard will outlast his former team (well, at least the one most often associated with the English midfielder). Derby County leads his side into Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.

“I’m not sure how much recent form will matter.

“We are unbeaten (in six) but we’ve got room for improvement,” Lampard said of his Rams. “Brighton are a very strong team, with a really good manager, and it will be a hugely tough challenge for us.”

Full FA Cup fifth round schedule

Friday
QPR v. Watford — 2:45 p.m. ET

Saturday
Brighton and Hove Albion v. Derby County — 7:30 am. ET
AFC Wimbledon v. Millwall — 10 a.m. ET
Newport County v. Man City — 12:30 p.m. ET

Sunday
Bristol City v. Wolves — 8 a.m. ET
Doncaster Rovers v. Crystal Palace — 11 a.m. ET
Swansea City v. Brentford — 11 a.m. ET

Monday
Chelsea v. Manchester United — 2:30 p.m. ET

Gray leads Watford past Silva’s Everton (video)

By Nicholas MendolaFeb 9, 2019, 12:20 PM EST
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  • Silva fails to beat former club again
  • Gray bags lone goal
  • Everton five points off seventh

Andre Gray‘s second-half goal gave Watford a big home win over Everton at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

The stadium reveled in criticizing former manager Marco Silva, who takes just one point from Watford in two matches this season.

Many fans wore inflatable or rubber/plastic snakes in dishonor of the coach who was openly wooed by Everton before being fired by the Hornets.

The Hornets now sit eighth with 37 points, four better than the Toffees.

[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]

Watford had an early chance and corner when Etienne Capoue was played to Jordan Pickford‘s doorstep.

Ben Foster had work to do at the other end, the Watford keeper jumping to catch Kurt Zouma‘s header of a Lucas Digne cross.

Gerard Deulofeu was lively for Watford, and forced the Toffees into a pair of late first half blocks.

Jose Holebas zipped a shot wide to begin the second half in earnest, as Marco Silva’s old club looked more likely to score than his current set of players.

The Hornets went ahead deservedly through substitute Gray, who finished a cross from Will Hughes which itself was set-up by a terrific Craig Cathcart flick.

Lucas Digne swirled a tight-angled free kick off the cross bar in the 84th, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed a Zouma cross wide of the goal.

[ MORE: Premier League schedule ]

[ MORE: Premier League stats ]

Watch Live: Liverpool, Arsenal in action at 10am ET

By Joe Prince-WrightFeb 9, 2019, 9:38 AM EST
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Another huge Saturday has arrived up and down the Premier League.

[ STREAM: Every PL game live here ] 

Liverpool host Bournemouth, Arsenal head to Huddersfield hoping to stay in the top four race, while there is a huge battle at the bottom between Southampton and Cardiff. Crystal Palace host West Ham in a London derby, while Watford host Everton.

[ MORE: Sign up for NBC Sports Gold ] 

You can access additional games by purchasing the new “Premier League Pass” via NBC Sports Gold which also includes an extensive selection of shoulder programming such as Premier League News, Premier League Today and NBC Sports originals such as Premier League Download and much more.

[ STREAM: “Goal Rush” here ]

For those of you familiar with the Premier League Breakaway Show during busy days (Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Championship Sunday etc.) in the PL, this will follow that model of being similar to the NFL RedZone with action shown from all of the games in the 10 a.m. ET window. More info is available here.

The schedule for all five games at 10 a.m. ET is below and you can stream each game live by clicking on the links.

10 a.m. ET: Liverpool v. Bournemouth – NBCSN [STREAM]
10 a.m. ET: Huddersfield v. Arsenal – CNBC [STREAM]
10 a.m. ET: Crystal Palace v. West Ham – NBC Sports Gold [STREAM]
10 a.m. ET: Southampton v. Cardiff City – NBC Sports Gold [STREAM]
10 a.m. ET: Watford v. Everton – NBC Sports Gold [STREAM]