As players return from the international break, all eyes turn to the FA Cup where eight teams are looking to secure their place in a Wembley semi-final.
Fresh off their Carabao Cup triumph against Arsenal, Manchester City will look to keep alive their hopes of a cup double when they host Liverpool in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Arne Slot’s side has endured a frustrating second season in England, and the Dutchman could well need silverware if he is to avoid the sack at the end of the season.
Later on Saturday, Chelsea will look to end their four-match winless run when they host struggling League One outfit Port Vale at Stamford Bridge.
Port Vale produced an upset against Sunderland in the last round to reach the quarter-finals, and will be huge underdogs once again against the Club World Cup Champions.
Arsenal conclude Saturday’s FA Cup action with a potentially tricky trip to St Mary’s to face in-form Southampton before West Ham and Leeds United meet at the London Stadium on Sunday.
As ever, England legend and Betfair ambassador Alan Shearer has revealed his FA Cup predictions to Metro.
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Manchester City v Liverpool
The confidence and the belief that City will have after winning the Carabao Cup, and the way they did, will give them great belief and confidence to go again. There’s a lot of talk about Pep, and will he be here next season? Obviously, there’s a lot of talk about Liverpool and how poor they’ve been.
For both clubs, there are huge talking points, but I think City will have enough to get through and I think they could go all the way in the FA Cup.
Prediction – Manchester City win
Chelsea v Port Vale
I have done the comms for Chelsea a couple of times in the FA Cup this season. They weren’t great at Wrexham, but they don’t have to be, they’ve managed to get through abd sometimes that is all you have to do in these competitions. But there is a lot of pressure on Chelsea at the moment.
I don’t think Chelsea are a top-quality outfit, in terms of where they should be, what they’ve spent, but I do think they’ll have enough to get through to the semi-finals this weekend.
Prediction – Chelsea win
Southampton v Arsenal
I think Arsenal will know and they’ll understand how tough this fixture is against Southampton, particularly on the back of what happened two weeks ago in the Carabao Cup.
Everyone’s looking at them, and the pressure is on them. I think Southampton could give them a really difficult game, and they are flying at the moment in terms of where they were to where they are now in the Championship. I think they’ll make it very difficult, but I think Arsenal will have enough to get through.
If Arsenal get knocked out, it would be incredibly tough for them, mentally, to go on and achieve what they want to achieve if they don’t get through this weekend. But I think they’ll get through.
Prediction – Arsenal win
West Ham v Leeds
You always have to try and get belief and a momentum and all those things, I think it’s hugely important especially in games like this for both sides who are struggling in the league.
West Ham vs Leeds is a massive game, albeit not as big as it could be if it was a league game, because you know what you’d prefer. It’s a great chance for either side to try and build a little bit of momentum and go again, and with West Ham being at home, I think they’ll have enough to do it, because they’ve got a little bit of form, so I’d go for West Ham.
Prediction – West Ham win
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