It was almost inevitable wasn’t it? Manchester United’s reward for defeating Manchester City in one of the most thrilling FA Cup ties in years is a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the fourth round.
If the Red Devils do end up in Wembley in May, they certainly won’t have done it the easy way and what is always a hotly-contested meeting is likely to be even more caustic than usual given the fall-out between the clubs over the Luis Suarez affair.
The Liverpool v United clash (their second cup meeting in as many years) is by far the most attractive of the fourth round ties, although Chelsea will also return to Loftus Road – where John Terry is alleged to have racially abused Anton Ferdinand earlier in the season – if Neil Warnock’s men can get past MK Dons.
Elsewhere, Arsenal will meet Aston Villa if they can get over Leeds tomorrow night, while the other all-Premier League games include West Brom v Norwich and Everton v Fulham.
Sunderland v Middlesbrough should be an entertaining local derby, but there’s only one game that people will be talking about after this evening’s draw.
In just one weekend, the FA Cup suddenly became interesting once again.
FA Cup fourth round draw (Ties to be played on 28/29 January):
Brighton or Wrexham v Newcastle
Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Dagenham & Redbridge or Millwall v Southampton
Hull City v Crawley
MK Dons or QPR v Chelsea
West Brom v Norwich
Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday
Arsenal or Leeds v Aston Villa
Stevenage v Notts County
Watford v Tottenham
Liverpool v Manchester United
Derby v Stoke City
Everton v Fulham
Macclesfield or Bolton v Swansea
Sheffield United v Birmingham or Wolves
Nottingham Forest or Leicester v Swindon
