As the international break draws to a close, the FA Cup draw for the quarter-finals has already been made, and Manchester City have been given a massive task against fellow Premier League side Liverpool.

During the last round, City and Newcastle met. And despite taking the lead through Barnes, Savinho equalised before half-time to make it 1-1. It was a double for Omar Marmoush in the next half to claim the 3-1 result.

Due to this, it means that Manchester City have won four out of five matches with Newcastle in the last few months. While they were defeated in their opening meeting, since then, they have been very impressive against the Geordies.

Man City’s chances in the Cup are still very much going, adding it to the Carabao Cup they won over Arsenal. They are still in the UEFA Champions League; however, they must come back from a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid. In the PL, with there being a seven-point gap, though things aren’t over for them, it seems as City will have a hard time attempting to take over Arsenal.

Overall, they have much to aim for. A title is definitely possible, but in order to achieve so, the Cityzens must bring their best form, as anything now is the decider in how they end their term.

Now, the FA Cup will have a fixture between Manchester City and Liverpool, a match that always proves to be a mouthwatering one.

The two have met twice in the season so far, coming in the Premier League where City were 3-0 and then 2-1 winners. This will boost them ahead of this encounter, but Liverpool are far from easy, making it a tough test.

The FA Cup results

Wolves 1-3 Liverpool

Mansfield 1-2 Arsenal

Wrexham 2-4 Chelsea

Newcastle 1-3 Manchester City

Fulham 0-1 Southampton

Port Vale 1-0 Sunderland

Leeds 3-0 Norwich City

West ham 2-2 Brentford (5-3 on penalties)

The FA Cup official draw

Manchester City vs Liverpool – Saturday, the 4th at 12:45 (UK)

Chelsea vs Port Vale – Saturday, the 4th at 17:15 (UK)

Arsenal vs Southampton – Saturday, the 4th at 20:00 (UK)

West ham vs Leeds – Sunday, the 5th at 16:30 (UK)

These are the full details for the last four matches. Two all Premier League games, and then League One and Championship sides looking for wins against more PL opposition.

Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment as Tottenham manager “raises serious and far-reaching concerns” following his public support of former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) has said.

De Zerbi has signed a five-year contract at Spurs with the club facing a relegation battle, sitting just one point above the relegation zone with seven games remaining. De Zerbi, who previously managed Brighton in the Premier League, replaces the interim manager Igor Tudor, following the Croatian’s disastrous 44-day spell in charge.

But several Tottenham supporters’ groups, including Proud Lilywhites, urged the club to not appoint De Zerbi due to the Italian having backed Greenwood during his time in charge in charge of Marseille. The THST said those concerns were brought to the club directly while Spurs considered De Zerbi’s appointment.

Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young women after images and videos were posted online.

The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to a “combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses” and due to “no realistic prospect of conviction”.

In November, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” that had paid a “heavy price” and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.”

In a statement, the THST said De Zerbi’s comments on Greenwood were “unnecessary, ill-judged, and deeply offensive to a significant number of supporters and, without doubt, will have left victims of male violence alarmed”.

The group said the appointment of De Zerbi could “create a divide among supporters at a time when we all need to be pulling together to back the team” and it was “concerning that the club would put us in this position right when the team needs fans the most”.

On De Zerbi’s comments, the THST said: “If those remarks reflect his genuine views, they cast a troubling shadow over the values of the club we love.”

The THST also called on Tottenham to “reassert its commitment to the values that fans hold dear – chief among them equality, respect, and integrity” and said any future messages from De Zerbi “must clearly and unequivocally reaffirm these values”.

Tottenham considered and discussed De Zerbi’s backing of Greenwood and his comments about him during negotiations with the Italian, but sporting director Johan Lange confirmed the club had landed their “number one target for the summer” and Spurs were “pleased to be able to bring him in now”.

In a statement accompanying Tottenham’s announcement, De Zerbi insisted he is committed to the club’s “ambition for the future”. The Italian lasted less than two seasons in his previous two spells at Brighton and Marseille, and he has been immediately thrown into a relegation battle.

The THST said: “While we recognise the limited pool of managers with recent Premier League experience, and the need to act with urgency as Spurs face the prospect of relegation, this appointment raises serious and far-reaching concerns, and many fans have been in touch with us to urge us to communicate the strength of feeling.”

In a statement following De Zerbi’s appointment, Proud Lilywhites said: “Whilst we disagree with the managerial choice, in terms of culture and competence, we will continue to support the players without pretending to be comfortable with the appointment.

“Staying silent is not the answer. But choosing when and where to be vocal matters. Managers come and go. Executives come and go. Players come and go. Fans remain. We are the constant in this club. We will continue to represent the views of our members to the club, alongside the other supporter associations. This is not noise or reaction. It is a considered position, and it is not going away.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been contacted for comment

The Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy can look forward to working with a character like Roberto De Zerbi.

That’s according to Brighton chief executive Paul Barber as his former head coach begins a new challenge in north London.

4

Spurs announced the appointment of De Zerbi on a five-year deal on Tuesday and talkSPORT understands the contract has no relegation clause.

He joins the relegation-threatened club just over a month after he left Marseille in France, and two years on from his Brighton exit.

De Zerbi was a huge success on the south coast as he guided them to Europe for the first time in their 124-year-history at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Barber expressed his confidence in the 46-year-old’s ability to make an impact at Spurs.

“Roberto is a fabulous football coach and I’m sure wherever he goes, he will do very well,” he told Jim White.

When asked about their differences at the end of their time working together, a mutual exit, Barber added: “Not differences as such.

“Roberto did two fabulous years with us, we got into Europe for the first time in the club’s history.

“We worked really hard to entertain the fans, which we did.

Marc Cucurella has criticised Chelsea’s board for allowing Enzo Maresca to leave and says Arsenal are being ‘rewarded’ for the trust they showed in Mikel Arteta.

Maresca left Stamford Bridge at the start of January, less than six months after winning the Club World Cup at the end of his first season at Chelsea.

The Italian guided Chelsea to a fourth-place finish last season and won the Conference League, but a poor run of form in December and conflicts with his bosses led to his exit.

Chelsea enjoyed a promising start under Maresca’s replacement Liam Rosenior but the Blues have struggled since the start of February.

A Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal sparked a worrying run in which Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League by PSG and won just one of their last six Premier League games.

Rosenior is already believed to be under pressure in west London and Cucurella, who has been at Chelsea since 2022, has bemoaned Maresca’s departure, pointing to the success Arsenal look set to enjoy under Arteta, a manager they backed despite some early teething problems.

‘Liam is a very good person and has been great at handling the group, the characters,’ Cucurella told The Athletic. ‘He likes to stay close to us and his football ideas are good, but we don’t have the time to train them.

‘We train on (playing in) competitive games, because we play every three days and that leaves you with no time to work on the training ground.

‘In this context, it is normal that your plans sometimes don’t work out, and then we go through difficult moments.

‘With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months. If you look at our first pre-season with him, there were doubts.

‘You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart. If we changed the system, we knew what we had to do. You need that time.

‘Look at Arsenal now, who are fighting for every trophy. They’ve been with (Mikel) Arteta for almost seven years and they have not won much. But that trust in the project gives rewards.’

Cucurella added: ‘We knew what Maresca wanted from us. Winning a title like the Club World Cup also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations.

‘When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you’d die for him.

‘The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision.

‘To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season…

‘The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. It is what it is.’

Cucurella has also criticised Chelsea’s transfer policy which has seen a number of talented but inexperienced players arrive at Stamford Bridge.

‘I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction – signing young players and looking to the future,’ Cucurella said.

‘But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged. We have a good core of players. The foundations are there.

‘But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals.

‘You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds.’

Chelsea’s recent dip has left them sixth in the Premier League, six points outside the top-four places. The Blues are in FA Cup action this weekend, facing League One strugglers Port Vale for a place in the semi-finals.

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Could Marc Cucurella be on his way out of Chelsea with Enzo Fernandez this summer? The left-back is flirting with Barcelona.

Fernandez, who signed from Benfica for a then British-record fee of £106.8m in January 2023, has been one of the Blues’ standout players over the past couple of seasons.

The Argentina World Cup winner has contributed 12 goals and five assists in all competitions this season, while he also provided three assists for his team-mates and a goal in the FIFA Club World Cup over the summer.

That has led to interest from Real Madrid ahead of the upcoming transfer window with a report nine days ago claiming that Fernandez is ‘close to joining’ the La Liga side in the summer.

MAILBOX: Why is the Ole era at Man Utd deemed a failure? Solskjaer was a success…

When asked recently if he would be at Chelsea next season, Fernandez said: “I don’t know, there are eight games left and then the FA Cup. Then there’s the World Cup, and then we’ll see.”

In an interview over the weekend with Marcos Giles and Infobae, Fernandez insisted he would like to move to Madrid at some point in the future.

He said: “I’d like to experience, I don’t know, live there. I really like Madrid, it reminds me a lot of Buenos Aires.”

And now Cucurella, who holds a role of similar importance to Fernandez at Chelsea, has admitted it would be “difficult to refuse” an approach from Barcelona despite insisting he remains “happy” at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking ahead of Spain’s friendly against Egypt on Tuesday, Cucurella explained: “You always think about going back. I’m very happy there (in London), and so is my family. I’ll leave it for a few years from now.”

But when asked what he would do if Barca called, he added: “It would be difficult to refuse. It’s not just about me. I’d have to think about my family. If it happens, it happens, and we’ll see what decision is made.”

Fabrizio Romano confirmed last week that Real Madrid are indeed interested in Fernandez but the transfer expert insists that Los Blancos “have not yet made a final decision on which midfielder they want to sign”.

Romano said: “Let me also update you on Enzo Fernandez. He has rejoined the Argentina national team and, when asked about his future, he made it clear that his full focus is on Chelsea FC and upcoming matches.

“At the moment, there is no agreement over a new contract between the player and Chelsea. If an important opportunity arises, a summer move cannot be ruled out, but Chelsea remain in control. He is under a long-term contract, is a crucial player, and the club invested significant money to sign him.

“Regarding links with Real Madrid, Enzo Fernandez has stated that there are no talks. This is accurate, as there are currently no negotiations or concrete discussions.

“Real Madrid have not yet made a final decision on which midfielder they want to sign. They are internally discussing options, which is completely normal, but no specific move has been initiated. This is why there is no contact at this stage.”

When it rains, it pours.

Amid reports Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez could seek a move away from Stamford Bridge, a third Chelsea star has now cast doubt over his future at the club.

3

Speaking while on international duty with Spain, Blues defender Marc Cucurella was quizzed on whether he’d entertain a move to Barcelona.

On your Marc

“Let’s see, it’s clear that if those situations arise, well, they are hard to turn down, but I would consider it in the end,” Cucurella said.

“It is not just me. I also have to think perhaps about my family, and together we would decide what is best for us.

“But, as I have said before, right now I am not thinking about that.

“It it comes, it will come, and we will see what decision is made.”

It would mark an emotional return for Cucurella, who first joined the Spanish giants in 2012 and spent eight years on their books before moving to Getafe in June 2020.

However, Cucurella was only a permanent player at Getafe for just one season as Brighton came calling in August 2021.

Cucurella’s impressive displays for the Seagulls caught the eyes of the Premier League’s heavyweight clubs, as Chelsea beat Manchester City in the race for his signature having agreed a £63million deal.

By MICHAEL PAVITT, SPORTS REPORTER

Published: 12:24, 26 March 2026 | Updated: 18:23, 26 March 2026

Mauricio Pochettino once again distanced himself from links to a return to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, while expressing his confidence that his former club will avoid relegation despite a challenging season.

Pochettino, who led Spurs to some of their greatest successes in the modern era during a tenure from 2014-2019, has often been linked with a return to the club. However, his position as head coach of the US men’s national team has prevented him from taking over this season as Tottenham have floundered. Pochettino will not be available for his next job until after this summer’s World Cup, as his US Soccer contract expires in August.

Speaking with reporters ahead of the US’s Tuesday friendly against Portugal, Pochettino said that his “full focus” is on leading the US at a home World Cup.

“I think everyone knows that I am committed with the national team here,” Pochettino said, adding that nobody has approached him about jobs at Tottenham or Real Madrid, where he has also been linked should the club decide to move on from Álvaro Arbeloa.

Pochettino also left open the possibility that he could extend his stay with the US.

“Who knows what is going to happen,” he said. “We are open. We don’t have a contract for the future. But why not? If we are happy and the federation is happy, it’s only about to see … Never say never in football.

“But now it’s not time to talk. It’s time to be focusing [on] the World Cup, and after the World Cup, for sure, we will have time to talk in some way or another, depending on the vision of the federation and also our feeling.”

Asked about Tottenham’s recent form, which has the club hovering just one point above the relegation places with seven matches to play, Pochettino expressed confidence that Spurs will beat the drop, regardless of who is in charge next. Spurs are targeting Robert De Zerbi to take over, with the club reportedly offering him a long-term contract to start immediately.

“I am sure they’re going to stay up, with coach or without coach,” Pochettino said. “Because of the players, because I think they have unbelievable players, and it’s a club with fans that are going to make everything to create that energy to win. Of course, that is going to be tough, because the energy and the dynamics is difficult … But if you ask me about that club, it’s a club that I really care [about], and for sure, I really trust that [they’re] going to stay in Premier League.”

Paul Merson says Cole Palmer is being ‘wasted’ by Liam Rosenior on the wing and needs to start in the No.10 role when Chelsea return to Premier League action against Manchester City.

Palmer has been nothing short of a revelation since joining Chelsea from Manchester City for a fee of £40million back in 2023, racking up 53 goals and 32 assists in 122 appearances for the Blues.

The 23-year-old attacker was named the PFA Young Player of the Year on the back of his magnificent debut season at Stamford Bridge before playing a key role last term as the club won the Europa Conference League.

However, Palmer has struggled to have the same sort of impact this season in Chelsea colours, not helped by several injuries problems which have forced him to miss a total of 11 games in the Premier League.

And while Palmer has netted six times since Rosenior took over the reins from Enzo Maresca in early January, fans and pundits have questioned whether the new Chelsea manager could be getting more out of the forward.

In Chelsea’s last three league games, Palmer’s influence has been somewhat limited while playing out on the right flank. Before that, he started on the opposite wing with little success as the side slumped to a 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal.

According to Merson, Palmer needs to return to where he ‘can make things happen’ again to give Chelsea the best possible chance of getting back to winning ways after four straight defeats in all competitions.

‘They’ve got to get back to Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, put Palmer in the No.10 and then put Estevao and Pedro Neto on the wings and put Joao Pedro up front,’ Merson, a lifelong fan of Chelsea, said on Sky Sports News.

‘Get Palmer in the middle of the pitch where he can make things happen.

‘At the moment, he’s playing out on the right, he gets the ball and he’s never ever going to run past the full-back. He’s not the quickest in the world.’

After what was an encouraging start to Rosenior’s reign, Chelsea have dropped to sixth in the Premier League table and are at risk of missing out on Champions League qualification for next season.

If the Blues are to turn the situation around, Merson believes Rosenior needs to start playing his best players in their favoured positions and ‘have a go’ when they take to the field against Manchester City.

‘The fans want to see Estevao playing as well,’ the former Arsenal, Aston Villa and England midfielder added.

‘He’s direct, he plays with no fear. I think he’s [Rosenior] got to go back to that and have a go against Manchester City.

‘If he does that, I think they’ve got a chance but if he plays the two holding midfield players and puts Palmer out on the wing, I think Palmer is wasted.’

Merson has not been surprised to see Enzo Fernandez flirting with Real Madrid during the international break, warning the club that more players could follow suit should they miss out on Champions League football.

‘That’s been happening over the last 30 or 40 years, players go away with their country to one of the local papers or magazines in their country and then it gets back to England,’ he explained.

‘They then go, “I didn’t mean to say that!”, but it’s been happening for years and years.

‘If Chelsea don’t get in the Champions League then there’s going to be a problem, players will want to leave.

‘Players want to play in the Champions League, they want to play on the big table, so, for me, these last seven games are so important, starting with Manchester City at home which is a difficult game.’

Given the transfer model that Chelsea have adopted since Todd Boehly’s takeover in 2022, Merson fears the club could be coaxed into selling Palmer in the summer transfer window.

It comes amid widespread reports linking Manchester United with the Manchester City academy product.

‘That’s the model, yeah, and that’s why they buy young players,’ he said.

‘They buy young players to sell them for more money and that will be the model because this team isn’t winning the Premier League.

‘I’m a Chelsea fan and we’re not going to win the Premier League, we’re not set out to win the Premier League over 38 games.

‘On any given Saturday they will beat someone, but they won’t do it over 38 games.

‘For me, they need to change it, but if they get the right money, if they got £120m for Palmer when they bought him for £40m, I’d be shocked if they didn’t sell him.

‘But they need to get in the Champions League and they’ve got to start playing him where he’s comfortable playing. On the right is a waste of time, he needs to play in the No.10 position and he’s as good as anyone around playing there.

‘That would give him a chance of playing there for England as well if he gets back in that position.’

Merson hopes Chelsea are patient with Rosenior and give the 41-year-old the opportunity to steer the club back towards the top of Premier League.

‘It started off alright, it’s just been the last four games [where they have struggled],’ he continued.

‘There were 15 minutes to go against PSG and it’s 2-2… you’re sitting there and you’re thinking that if anyone is going to win it then it could be Chelsea.

‘All of a sudden, they let in three goals, the game is over and they get blown away at home.

‘He needs to get results, the fans are looking and he’s always one defeat away with the fans. He needs to turn it around.

‘They’ve got Port Vale in the FA Cup this weekend and then it’s the big against Manchester City, it’s a massive game.

‘Football changes very quickly. If he can beat Port Vale and beat Manchester City then everything is rosy again.

‘But they’ve got to get this man Cole Palmer on the ball, he’s wasted on the wing, and you’ve got to get Estevao in too.’

Merson went on: ‘You want top managers at Chelsea. Who knows? Liam Rosenior might be, he might be.

‘We have this thing in England, we always go, “Experience, experience”, but how do you get experience? You get experience by losing four games on the trot and then going and beating Port Vale and Manchester City. That’s how you get experience.

‘Here, in this country, we have young managers like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, people like that, they lose a few games and they’re out of a job.

‘I remember many years ago when Teddy Sheringham went to Stevenage, this lad was one of the best football brains I’ve ever been on the pitch with… he goes to Stevenage, it doesn’t work out and he’s never managed since.

‘Sometimes you’ve got to give managers a chance.’

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This is not a “vibes” appointment. It’s the complete opposite.

Tottenham’s move for Roberto De Zerbi reflects the do-or-die situation they find themselves in, by the fact he could theoretically deliver either the miraculous best or cataclysmic worst case scenario for the club.

De Zerbi, on the surface, would be a coup for a team verging on the most humiliating relegation in Premier League history. The Italian was a resounding success story at Brighton, arriving with an unknown quality to English football only to become one of the continent’s most sought-after managers by the end of his two-season stint, apparently earning admirers at Barcelona and Liverpool.

He took charge of the Seagulls early into 2022/23 after Graham Potter was poached by Chelsea, but rather than overseeing a spiral he lifted the club to new heights, sealing European qualification for the first time in the club’s history. This proven ability to achieve the unlikely will surely have appealed to crisis-ridden Spurs.

Tottenham must also be attracted by De Zerbi’s free-flowing style of football. Traumatised by 44 days of Igor Tudor-ball, a footballing ideology bereft of inspiration, such a tactical revolution is needed and desired. Implementing that now, however, is a big risk.

De Zerbi likes to bait the press and build up. From goal kicks, he places the double pivot deep to draw the opposition high up the pitch, which then requires smart and swift play to evade the charging attackers and move the ball into the space created. Tottenham, exemplified in their Champions League quarter-final hammering at Atletico Madrid, are like a child running around with scissors when playing out from the back. It’s heart in mouth.

The Italian then strives for intricate possession-based football in the attacking phases, which again does not fit the bill of a team that only managed 50 per cent or more of the ball twice in Tudor’s reign of error. The jigsaw pieces don’t fit.

Assuming De Zerbi sticks by his tactical bible, his arrival does not promise a smooth transition when Tottenham can’t afford otherwise. The fact he went winless in his first five Brighton games will also not kindle confidence; do that in N17 and Spurs are all but down.

But there’s another problem attached to this choice.

Within three weeks of joining Marseille after his Brighton exit in the summer of 2024, Mason Greenwood followed De Zerbi through the door. Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over allegations relating to a young women after images and videos were posted online.

The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to a “combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses” and there being “no realistic prospect of conviction”. But after Manchester United received widespread backlash for toying with his reintegration that summer, Greenwood has been effectively banished from the English game.

De Zerbi was understood to have pushed heavily for Marseille to snap up Greenwood despite his legal worries. He ended the 2024/25 season far and away the club’s top goalscorer with a league tally of 21, and De Zerbi has been outspoken in his unwavering support for the player.

In November, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price” and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.”

It’s this that has caused multiple Tottenham fan groups to speak out against De Zerbi’s potential appointment. The club’s LGBTQI+ fan group Proud Lilywhites, along with Spurs Reach, both emphasised that progress should not come at the cost of “the values the club claims to stand for”. Women of the Lane defiantly said: “This is not an appointment Tottenham Hotspur should make.”

Tottenham’s Tudor gamble catastrophically backfired, but one of the very few silver linings was that at least the fans were united in how bad things were. That was evidenced by the vociferous welcome they gave their team bus before the crucial Nottingham Forest game, which aged comedically poorly as Tottenham’s players curled over in a bruising 3-0 defeat.

De Zerbi, however, risks completely dividing this fanbase at the worst possible time. You only need to look at the social media comments of Proud Lilywhites’ statement to see the number of “anti-woke” supporters who diametrically oppose the group’s viewpoint.

Tottenham have eight cup finals left to save their season. Four of them, including the last game of the season, are at home, where they’re winless in the league since December. Crowd infighting will not change the tide.

And then there’s the fear that unlike maybe a Ryan Mason or Harry Redknapp – the “he knows the club” candidates – De Zerbi will not go down with the ship. The Independent understands he will get a huge bonus for keeping Spurs in the Premier League, but details are scarce on the security of his five-year deal if he fails to deliver survival. Would he have taken this job if he didn’t have an escape route?

Tudor was the short-term solution that combusted on arrival. De Zerbi joins with the long-term at the forefront. If Spurs stay up, the ninth richest club in the world will feel well positioned to put this harrowing episode behind them and push back up the table. Sink to the Championship and Spurs may be left managerless, hopeless and with a fractured fanbase, their long-term plans torn to shreds.