Manchester United and Everton kickstart this weekend’s FA Cup fourth-round action, with 32 teams left in the competition.
The fourth-round ties take place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and will finish on Tuesday when Nottingham Forest travel to League One outfit Exeter City.
The likes of United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham are all still in the competition, with as many as 17 top-flight clubs are looking to book their place in the fifth round.
Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham are the only Premier League teams not featuring in the fourth round, having been eliminated in the previous set of matches.
The fifth-round draw will be held after Spurs’ trip to Aston Villa on Sunday night, which is being broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer.
Those fixtures will be held on the weekend of March 1/2. Exact dates and times will be confirmed following the draw, once broadcasters have decided which games will be shown on TV.
Those successful in reaching the quarter-finals will land £225,000 from the FA’s prize fund.
The fifth round marks the first involvement of VAR in this year’s FA Cup, with the video assistance used in every match from then until the final at Wembley. It had not been operational in the third and fourth rounds.
A statement from the FA explained: “VAR has only been used in the Emirates FA Cup previously for matches at Wembley Stadium and at Premier League grounds due to the infrastructure, workforce and costs that are required for its operation.
“This decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition.”
The Carabao Cup had trialled a new element to VAR, as on-field referees for the semi-finals would announce confirmed decisions made over the tannoy to those inside the stadium.
Simon Hooper had to tell over 40,000 angry Newcastle fans that Alexander Isak’s goal was ruled out for offside in their second leg win over Arsenal, prompting a chorus of boos inside St James’ Park.
The FA have not introduced the same concept into the FA Cup.
There has been a big change for the fifth round brought in this year, as fixtures take place mostly on a weekend rather than a traditional midweek.
The fifth round had taken place in the middle of the week over the past five campaigns, but the FA and Premier League reached a new agreement, confirming that all rounds of the FA Cup will be played on weekends. The deal is for a minimum of six years.
