With both Manchester City and Manchester United already knocked out of the 2012 FA Cup, there are only four members of the 'Sky Six' left alive. That makes for a less-congested 5th Round than we might be hoping for, although the Manchester derby and Liverpool-United matches may have raised our standards for this tournament a little too high.
FA Cup 5th Round Draw: Big Names Avoid Tough Matches
Unlike the previous two rounds, the fifth round draw of the 2012 FA Cup has failed to present us with any marquee games. The time might be ripe for some giant-killings, however.
Anyway, it'd be difficult to pick out a marquee tie in this round of games, because there really isn't one - the only chance of an all-Premier League match is if Sunderland beat Middlesbrough in their replay after being held by the Championship side at the Stadium of Light. Here's the full draw (Premier League sides in bold):
Millwall or Southampton vs. Bolton Wanderers
Sunderland or Middlesbrough vs. Arsenal
Norwich City vs. Leicester City
Stevenage vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Crawley Town vs. Stoke City
Chelsea vs. Birmingham City
Everton vs. Blackpool or Sheffield Wednesday
Liverpool vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Out of the nineteen teams left in the competition, more than half are from the lower leagues, although as many as three of them could drop out based on what happens in the fourth round replays. There’s a decent chance of some giant killings in the fifth round - Bolton look like they could well fall to Southampton, and the likes of Stevenage and Crawley Town both have what it takes to pull out shock wins. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
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