With every passing round, the hopes and dreams of the FA Cup’s remaining competitors grow ever larger.
England’s oldest cup competition could boast a surprise victor this season as the country’s behemoths fall by the wayside, with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea having already made early exits.
The quarter-finals are where things start to get serious and nerves begin to jangle, with one more win taking teams to Wembley Stadium for the semis. Victory in the last four secures a return trip to the capital for the final.
With clubs desperate to discover their fates, here’s everything you need to know about the FA Cup quarter-final draw.
The FA Cup quarter-final draw will be staged on Sunday 2 March, shortly after the completion of Manchester United vs Fulham at Old Trafford. The two sides kick-off at 16:30 GMT which would see the draw staged around 18:15. If the fixture ends up heading to extra-time and penalties, that would shift the ball-grabbing ceremony back to around 19:00.
That means that Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town, who clash in the fifth round on Monday evening, will know their potential FA Cup quarter-final opponents before they lock horns at the City Ground.
The FA Cup draw will be televised live on the BBC as part of their coverage of the Man Utd vs Fulham match. It will also be broadcast across the FA Cup’s official social media channels on X, Facebook and Instagram.
Former United defender Denis Irwin and ex-Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy will be drawing the balls for the last eight.
|
Ball number |
Team(s) |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Preston North End |
|
2 |
Aston Villa |
|
3 |
Crystal Palace |
|
4 |
Manchester United or Fulham |
|
5 |
Newcastle United or Brighton & Hove Albion |
|
6 |
Bournemouth |
|
7 |
Manchester City |
|
8 |
Nottingham Forest or Ipswich Town |
All four FA Cup quarter-finals will be played after the upcoming international break on the weekend of 29-30 March. There are no replays or two-legged ties, meaning all matches will be decided on the day. Winners will earn £450,000 each from the competition prize fund.
The semi-finals will then be hosted at Wembley in late April before the showpiece event on Saturday 17 May.
