FA Cup 4th round gives smaller clubs chance to make life tough for top-flight rivals

LONDON: The fourth round of the FA Cup this coming weekend doesn't, on paper, look as if it is going to produce many big surprises, but there are still some fascinating ties and the chance for some smaller clubs to make their more illustrious rivals suffer.

Manchester United's reward for their lucky win over Aston Villa in the last round is a home game against Middlesbrough, who have improved drastically since the arrival of Chris Wilder as coach.

Middlesbrough are pushing for promotion from the Championship and could give problems to a rival still in the midst of the controversy surrounding the arrest of striker Mason Greenwood.

While Chelsea should have few problems at home to Plymouth Argyll (although they should not forget the League One side knocked them out of the competition in 2015) and Crystal Palace will be favourites in their home game against Hartlepool United, Everton's home game against Brentford will be the focus of much attention.

The game sees Frank Lampard make his debut as coach after being named as the replacement for Rafael Benitez and although new arrivals Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli are both cup-tied after playing for their former clubs in the last round, Everton fans will want to see an improvement against a side that could be a rival in the battle to avoid relegation in the remainder of the season.

West Ham visit Kidderminster Harriers, who are the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, and David Moyes' men would be well-advised not to forget that the team from the sixth tier of the English game knocked Championship side Reading out of the last round. IANS

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