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Quarter-finals of the FA Cup on the BBC |
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Date: March 16-17 |
Blanket of all matches, including highlights, on the BBC Sport website and app; Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United and Millwall v Brighton & Hove Albion live on BBC One; broad coverage of BBC Radio 5 Live and local radio; live commentary on the BBC Sport website |
It's the weekend of the FA Cup quarter-finals, the four draws have ended and the teams have been allowed to make a fourth substitution if the matches are extended.
Millwall, 19th in the championship, is the least ranked among the remaining eight clubs, while Manchester United is looking to win the competition for a 13th time, a joint record.
Three of the four games will be held on Saturday and the other Sunday.
The tie between United and four-time winners Wolverhampton Wanderers will be broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday (19:55 GMT) – as well as Sunday's match between Millwall and Brighton & Hove Albion (14:00).
BBC Sport looks at the links of this weekend.
Watford v Crystal Palace: Will Roy have a finger on the cut?
Saturday, March 16th (12:15 GMT)
Imagine the scene: May 18, Roy Hodgson, 71, takes the Crystal Palace to Wembley, a sunny place. It's a scenario that Hodgson admits has crossed his mind.
"It would be a fantastic situation in which I would find myself, and I would love to do it, even if I only have my finger on the trophy," said the director of the Palace, whose management career has started 43 years ago in Sweden.
While Palace is not immune to relegation problems, staying in the Premier League remains Hodgson's top priority.
However, the Eagles are two victories of a second final of the England Cup in four seasons. Who could forget the touchline dance of Alan Pardew when Jason Puncheon beat them against Manchester United in 2016?
Michy Batshuayi could be the key to hopes of progress against rivals in the Premier League, Watford.
The striker on loan from Chelsea scored in his previous three appearances against the Hornets, scoring four goals, all in the Premier League while he was at the Stamford Bridge club.
Watford is under the domination of Javi Gracia, eighth in the standings and three points in the points record recorded in the Premier League with eight games to play.
Midfielder Will Hughes told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "We lost our sight.
"The way we play, our position in the league could not be much better.
"We have not exceeded 45 points in the Premier League, so we are in a fantastic position to do it."
Did you know? Neither Watford nor Crystal Palace have conceded a goal in the FA Cup this season.
Swansea City v Manchester City: Will Pep win his first Cup of England?
Saturday, March 16th (17:20 GMT)
Not so long ago, Swansea City beat the Premier League leader Luke Moore in Manchester City and eliminated Roberto Mancini's men from the March 2012 summit.
It has happened a lot over the last seven years.
Swansea moved from the Europa League in 2014 to a middleweight championship spot, while City, who recovered from losing to Liberty Stadium to win the league seven years ago, has taken on the scale.
Preparations for the Welsh club were not helped by a championship game at West Brom on Wednesday – a match that they lost 3-0.
Graham Potter's men are back in South Wales in the early hours of Thursday, giving them little time to prepare for Pep Guardiola's visit.
Kosovo midfielder Bersant Celina, however, believes his team can get a good idea of his former club.
22-year-old Celina made four first-team appearances as Manuel Pellegrini moved to Etihad Stadium.
"There is no shame in not being able to travel to Manchester City," said Celina, who joined the Swans last summer at the Mirror. "I am very happy at Swansea, we have an ambitious coach at Graham Potter, good young players and we feel we can progress even higher."
Since their last appearance in the FA Cup, a 4-1 win in Newport County, Manchester City has won the Carabao Cup and remains on track for a surprising quad.
They too were in the midst of midweek action – sticking seven goals ahead of Schalke in the Champions League. That made their mark for the league season and in 137 goals.
Do not expect Guardiola to take this tie lightly. The Spaniard has not yet won the FA Cup and should name a strong team.
Did you know? The city of Swansea has been eliminated in six of their last seven FA Cup matches against Premier League opponents.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United: Ole aux loups?
Saturday March 16th (19:55 GMT) live on BBC One
Which season have the wolves.
They have already marked their return to the Premier League by defeating Tottenham and Chelsea – and eliminating Liverpool from the FA Cup.
Will the Nuno Espirito Santo team put an end to Manchester United's hopes of winning the trophy this season in a sold-out Molineux?
"We are going to try to do something big," said the International Loups in Morocco, Romain Saiss, at Express & Star.
"It's an important match for us to have our semifinal at Wembley, we are playing at home and we have to be ready for this game."
United had a full week to recover from its first national blip under the acting manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, two-time FA Cup winner with the Red Devils.
Solskjaer demands an immediate response after seeing his players fall to fifth on the table after a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.
United beat Reading, Arsenal and Chelsea to reach this stage.
They will have to bounce back without Ashley Young. The rear defends a suspension. The favorite of Diogo Dalot, 19, takes his place at the back.
Juan Mata, who scored in the 2016 final, has not played since Feb. 24 but progressed after suffering an injury in the draw against Liverpool.
"We have already had to play tough matches in the FA Cup and the trip to the Wolves Saturday will be no different," said the Spaniard.
"We want to be in the semi-finals of a very special tournament for everyone, so we will have to do a good performance against opponents who have a good season."
Did you know? This is the 100th meeting between Wolves and United in all competitions. Their last meeting with Molineux took place in March 2012 in the Premier League, a 5-0 win for United.
Millwall v Brighton & Hove Albion: Another leading scalp?
Sunday March 17th (14h00 GMT) live on BBC One
In the past two years, Bournemouth, Watford, Leicester City and Everton have lost in the FA Cup at Millwall.
Will Brighton become the last Premier League team to fall into the Lions den?
Seagull forward Glenn Murray is determined that this will not happen and will ensure that Albion's foreign contingent knows what to expect in Bermondsey on Sunday.
"We're going to sit down and give them the heads-up," Murray said. "They probably have never been in this situation before.
"But nowhere more difficult than that."
Just like Swansea, a midweek championship program before the quarter-finals weekend did not benefit Millwall, although they did have at least an extra day to prepare.
The Lions are in a relegation fight but Millwall boss Neil Harris is confident of another surprise.
"The Den will move in. We saw how it was against Everton – it will be exactly the same for Brighton," Harris said.
"I'm really delighted to be at home, first and foremost for the fans, it is not the easiest season yet.
"But being comfortable in the quarterfinals against a Premier League team is a good draw."
Did you know? This is the 11th quarterfinal of the Millwall FA Cup, all as an unqualified team. Only Southampton (13) have reached more FA Cup quarter-finals even though they are not in the top flight.
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