FA Cup Team News

Fourth-round replay - Chelsea v Everton:Didier Drogba will start for Chelsea in place of the cup-tied Fernando Torres after being dropped for the draw at Fulham.

David Luiz is also ineligible as he was not a Chelsea player at the time of the original tie and the game comes too soon for Jose Bosingwa, while Alex (knee) and Yossi Benayoun (Achilles) are still sidelined. But Yuri Zhirkov could make his first appearance for three months as a substitute after recovering from a calf problem.

Everton will be without Louis Saha, who missed last week’s loss at Bolton with a hamstring injury and is still a few days away from returning to training.

Midfielder Jack Rodwell has recovered quicker than expected from a groin injury expected to rule him out for a month but the trip to Stamford Bridge comes too soon. Manager David Moyes has no fresh injury concerns.

Top scorers: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea) 14; Louis Saha & Tim Cahill (Everton) 9
Match odds: H 6-10 A 9-2 D 3-1
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

Fifth round:

Manchester United v Crawley Town

Alex Ferguson will dig deep into his Manchester United squad. With Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans ruled out and Nemanja Vidic likely to be rested, Wes Brown or John O’Shea will probably fill a central defensive berth. Anders Lindegaard or Tomasz Kuszczak will replace Edwin van der Sar in goal, whilst Javier Hernandez, Gabriel Obertan and Bebe can all expect to play a part.

Crawley will be without midfielder Scott Neilson who has failed to recover from a foot injury. Pablo Mills was rested for Tuesday's 0-0 draw against Wrexham and is expected to return. Defender John Dempster and midfielder Josh Simpson are cup-tied having played in previous rounds for Kettering and Southend respectively.

Top scorers: Dimitar Berbatov (Man Utd) 20; Matthew Tubbs (Crawley Town) 28
Match odds: H 1-20 A 25-1 D 8-1
Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).

Birmingham v Sheff Wed

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will make changes with defenders Martin Jiranek and Liam Ridgewell unlikely to be risked after suffering thigh and calf injuries respectively against Newcastle in midweek. McLeish will also hand a late fitness test to centre-back Curtis Davies who suffered a knee injury in training. The likes of Kevin Phillips, Matt Derbyshire, Alexander Hleb, Lee Bowyer, Keith Fahey, Stuart Parnaby, David Murphy, Jordon Mutch and Colin Doyle are all in contention to face the Owls.

Wednesday will be without suspended midfielder Giles Coke and striker Gary Madine who is not eligible having played for Carlisle earlier in the competition. Neil Mellor is likely to team up with Clinton Morrison and Chris Sedgwick is expected to be recalled in Coke’s absence. Lewis Buxton missed out in midweek with a hamstring problem and fellow defender Jon Otsemobor remains sidelined with a calf injury. Isaiah Osbourne, on-loan from Aston Villa, is eligible and Tommy Miller and Darren Potter could return to the squad after injury and illness respectively.

Top Scorers: Craig Gardner & Nikola Zigic (Birmingham) 7; Neil Mellor (Sheff Wed) 14
Match odds: H 4-6 A 4-1 D 14-5
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)

Stoke v Brighton

Thomas Sorensen will replace Asmir Begovic in goal for Stoke. Sorensen has played all three of Stoke’s FA Cup games to date this season, and so retains his place on that basis as promised by manager Tony Pulis. Matthew Etherington (hamstring) is a doubt. Andy Wilkinson is likely to return at right back after being rested for last week’s 1-0 defeat at Birmingham.

Chris Wood and Matt Sparrow should be in the Brighton squad after returning to training following injuries. On-loan West Brom striker Wood was substituted early on during last Saturday’s 4-1 win over Hartlepool with a foot injury and midfielder Sparrow has missed two games with a knee problem. Bulgarian midfielder Radostin Kishishev is out for personal reasons, winger Craig Noone is cup-tied and Jim McNulty (ankle), Jamie Smith (foot) and Alan Navarro (cruciate) are long-term absentees.

Top scorers:Robert Huth & Kenwyne Jones (Stoke) 7; Glenn Murray (Brighton) 14
Match odds: H 7-10 A 19-5 D 11-4
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).

Sunday, February 20th

Fourth-round replay:

Manchester City v Notts County

James Milner is City’s major injury concern. The midfielder is suffering from a tight hamstring and will be monitored before Roberto Mancini decides whether to play him or not. Nigel de Jong (ankle) is doubtful but Mario Balotelli should be involved after his recent knee problems.

Notts County boss Paul Ince has a doubt over winger Lewis Gobern (thigh) and on-loan midfielder David Martin will miss out with a groin injury. Winger Alan Judge also misses out again with a foot injury. Loan duo Conor Clifford and Kevin McDonald are ineligible as they were not registered with the club before the original tie with City, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Ince could have defender Liam Chilvers (knee) available again after he played 75 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly in midweek. He is likely to be included among the substitutes.

Top scorers

: Carlos Tevez (Man City) 20; Lee Hughes (Notts County) 12

Match odds

: H 1-5 A 12-1 D 11-2

Referee

: Mike Jones (Cheshire).

Fifth round:

Leyton Orient v Arsenal

Orient midfielder Matthew Spring is a doubt because of a calf problem and will be handed a late fitness check. Fellow midfielder Adam Chambers is a definite absentee with a shin injury. Defender Terrell Forbes will hope for a recall after dropping to the bench at MK Dons in midweek, while striker Jonathan Tehoue is pushing to start after climbing off the bench to hit the winner.

Theo Walcott is expected to recover from a slight hamstring strain and centre back Johan Djourou is also likely to be included in the Arsenal squad if he recovers from a back problem suffered against Barcelona. Right-back Bacary Sagna is available after returning from suspension but midfielder Abou Diaby is still banned. Striker Marouane Chamakh returns to the squad after missing out against Barcelona.

Top scorers

: Alex Revell (Leyton Orient) 14; Samir Nasri (Arsenal) 14

Match odds

: H 8-1 A 3-10 D 9-2

Referee

: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).

Fulham v Bolton

Clint Dempsey and Simon Davies are expected to feature for Fulham. Dempsey (toe) and Davies (ankle) have minor knocks but should participate in the all-Premier League showdown at Craven Cottage. Philippe Senderos (Achilles) and Bobby Zamora (broken leg) remain on course in their rehabilitation from long-term injuries.

Bolton will be without half of their first-choice back four. Zat Knight is expected to miss six weeks with a knee ligament injury while Sam Ricketts ruptured his Achilles against Wigan on Wednesday and will be out for the rest of the season. With full-backs Gretar Steinsson and Jlloyd Samuel still sidelined, Marcos Alonso may again be asked to deputise, while in-form striker Daniel Sturridge is cup-tied.

Top scorers

: Clint Dempsey (Fulham) 10; Johan Elmander (Bolton) 10

Match odds

: H 21-20 A 21-10 D 11-5

Referee

: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire).

Monday, February 21st

Fifth round:

West Ham v Burnley

West Ham give a debut to Thomas Hitzlsperger. The midfielder is yet to make an appearance for the Hammers after suffering a serious thigh injury while playing for Germany last summer but is now near full fitness after coming through a series of reserve games. James Tomkins (calf) and Matthew Upson (Achilles) will be assessed over the weekend after they both missed last week’s 3-3 draw at West Brom but Robbie Keane is out with a calf injury.

Burnley will be without Charlie Austin and Marvin Bartley as both are cup-tied after playing in earlier rounds for Swindon and Bournemouth respectively. David Edgar’s loan move to Swansea has broken down and he will come into contention.

Top scorers

: Victor Obinna, Frederic Piquionne and Carlton Cole (West Ham) 8; Chris Iwelumo and Chris Eagles (Burnley) 11

Match Odds

: H 10-11 A 3-1 D 5-2

Referee

: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).