Four matches to look forward to in fourth round of FA Cup

The Fourth Round of the FA Cup has arrived, with matches beginning Thursday and running through Monday. Is there a little magic left?

A full slate of fixtures can be found here, but we’ve selected four to pay closer attention to.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City: Friday, Jan. 26

Tottenham will be without captain Son Heung-min when they host Pep Guardiola’s side, but James Maddison may be back to play a part – who before losing multiple months to an ankle ligament injury earlier this season, provided three goals and five assists in 11 Premier League matches.

Meanwhile, Guardiola’s midfield maestro in the form of Kevin De Bruyne has returned. Yet despite their dominance in recent years, Pep’s side has failed to score a single goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since its inception. They’ve played five matches there, losing all five.

This time around, the hosts are playing an entirely different style of football under new manager Ange Postecoglou. Exciting as that has been, it should also give City an opportunity or two to break this inexplicable streak.

Chelsea vs. Aston Villa: Friday, Jan. 26

Given how much Chelsea have spent since the Todd Boehly takeover, sitting ninth in the Premier League isn’t exactly what the Blues had in mind. And yet, given the sides that have already fallen out of the competition, a cup run could be on the cards.

But Mauricio Pochettino and his side will have their hands full with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. Currently fourth in the league and vying for a Champions League spot, Villa has picked up one impressive victory after another this season.

With European football still to manage, it will be interesting to see how much (if any) Emery decides to rotate. Pochettino’s Chelsea, however, won’t have to worry about that.

Ipswich Town vs. Maidstone United: Saturday, Jan. 27

One side is knocking on the door of an automatic promotion to the Premier League in Ipswich, while non-league Maidstone United will be looking for another miracle after taking out League One challenger Stevenage in the Third Round.

On that day, a first-half penalty was all that was needed to secure victory. Something tells us Ipswich, who have tallied the third-most goals in the Championship thus far, will make things a little more difficult.

If there is any cup magic left to be conjured, it lies with Maidstone. That is, until Sunday.

Newport County AFC vs. Manchester United: Sunday, Jan. 28

Newport County are about as mid-table as one could be in League Two, but they play host to Manchester United this weekend, who like Chelsea, have had a disappointing 2023-24 campaign.

Despite their Champions League berth, Erik ten Hag’s side found themselves entirely out of Europe after finishing dead last in the group stage. They’re out of the EFL Cup as well, having lost 0-3 to Newcastle in November.

An FA Cup run might be all United have left to salvage something from this season, as they sit a distant seventh in the Premier League on only 32 points – 16 off first and 11 adrift of a Champions League spot.

New ownership in the form of Sir Jim Ratcliffe may signal brighter days ahead, but it’s too early to tell. In the meantime, Newport will be hoping to be the latest in a long list of clubs to add to United’s misery. Toppling them at home would surely make it all the sweeter.