The FA Cup returns this week for its much-criticised midweek round of fixtures – but at least we can get excited about the lower-league presence.
Seven Football League clubs make up the 16-team fifth round and, while only one tie is an all-EFL clash, don’t bet against a few shocks.
So from Harry Haddock inflatables to the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, here we give you the lowdown on each Football League club out to record a giant-killing…
STOKE v Brighton, 7.15pm Tuesday, ITV4
On their day, Stoke are the sort of team you might fancy for a Championship play-off place. The problem is, those days are few and far between.
Alex Neil dramatically departed Sunderland to join the Potters in August and some Black Cats fans have laughed that the grass is not always greener.
The Scottish boss holds an inconsistent record at the Staffordshire club – 11 wins, six draws and 13 defeats from his first 30 games.
Stoke’s star man is Lewis Baker, who spent 17 years on Chelsea’s books and had seven loans across four countries before joining the Potters permanently last year.
Now club captain, the 27-year-old midfielder has scored 16 goals for the club, with nine of those coming from outside the box – more than any player in England’s top four tiers in that time.
CHANCE OF A SHOCK 2/5
Alex Neil’s Stoke City, with their inconsistent record, will hope for cup glory hosting Brighton
Captain Lewis Baker is star man for the Potters after joining the squad permanently in 2022
Leicester v BLACKBURN, 7.30pm Tuesday, BBC iPlayer/red button
Blackburn are fourth in the Championship and, despite many predicting Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men to eventually fall away, they are unbeaten in nine.
The Danish manager has overseen 17 wins and 13 losses in the league, with a weirdly-looking goal difference of zero, noting they are in the play-off places.
Tomasson’s team are tough to beat – keeping more clean sheets than all but the top two and Coventry this term – and will not roll over for Leicester.
CHANCE OF A SHOCK 2/5
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Blackburn have been expected to fade away, but may trouble Leicester
Nigel Pearson has secured his job at Bristol City, and they host Manchester City on Tuesday
BRISTOL CITY v Manchester City, 8pm Tuesday, ITV1
Pep Guardiola’s chief scout compiled a dossier on Bristol City last week that, in a nutshell, warned the Premier League champions that if they take their second-tier opposition for granted, they might fall victim to a giant-killing.
Nigel Pearson’s job at Bristol City looked to be on the line with fans calling for his head on Boxing Day. But the Robins are 12 unbeaten since and come here in fine form.
A sell-out crowd is set to fill Ashton Gate for the visit of Guardiola’s star-studded side. In a thrilling Carabao Cup semi-final in 2018, the Robins gave the eventual winners a mighty fright.
The Robins’ star man is midfielder Alex Scott, who is just 19 and nicknamed the ‘Guernsey Grealish’.
With a chance to impress against the real Jack Grealish, this is a chance for Scott to put his name on a national stage and perhaps add a few million pounds to his ever-growing market value, with Premier League clubs sniffing around him.
Elsewhere on the pitch, veteran striker Nakhi Wells is in fine form, scoring two goals in his last two games. City ended a 469-day wait for a penalty a fortnight ago – they’ve since scored two!
With Ashton Gate rocking and a team in fine form, don’t bet against a memorable cup upset.
CHANCE OF A SHOCK 3/5
Bristol City’s Alex Scott, dubbed the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, comes up against the real thing
Southampton v GRIMSBY, 7.15pm Wednesday, ITV4
A win for the small fry last week as Southampton overturned a decision to ban Grimsby fans from taking their iconic inflatable fish mascots to St Mary’s.
Around 5,000 Mariners fans are making the trek to the south coast with their Harry Haddock inflatables, after Saints reneged on their fish ban.
It’s Grimsby’s first fifth-round tie since 1996 and manager Paul Hurst is developing a tough-to-beat identity with them unbeaten in three.
‘You know how important the football club is to the area,’ said Hurst in an interview with The Times. ‘Every club says that. But it really has its place at the heart of the town. It’s a big part of people’s lives.
‘Using the football club as a vehicle to reach out to the community is really important to them.’
With 5,000 fans cheering them on at Ruben Selles’ side, who are rock bottom in the Premier League, why shouldn’t the Harry Haddock army fancy their chances of catching a big fish?
CHANCE OF A SHOCK 4/5
Harry the Haddock will be proudly displayed among Grimsby’s travelling fans in Southampton
BURNLEY v FLEETWOOD, 7.30pm Wednesday, BBC iPlayer/red button
You’ll need two pieces of equipment to discuss Vincent Kompany’s Burnley team: a calculator and thesaurus.
The promotion equation is simple: with 12 games to play, the Clarets are 19 points clear and an instant return to the Premier League is an almost certainty.
You must do a bit of number-crunching to work out whether they can statistically become the second tier’s greatest-ever team.
Ten wins from 12 will see them level Reading’s record points tally, set in 2005-06. Whether they do or not will not change the belief and domination Kompany has instilled.
Burnley have lost just once since August 12 and superlatives have run out to describe their fire-power.
The FA Cup is a distraction and Kompany is unlikely to heavily rotate his pack for the visit of Fleetwood.
Managed by former Celtic captain Scott Brown – now with a full head of hair! – The Fishermen come here in fine form, winning five of their last six and drawing the other at Plymouth, just one of two teams to take points at Home Park this season. They’re now 11th in the table.
CHANCE OF A SHOCK 2/5
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley may view the FA Cup as a distraction from Championship duty
The Clarets come up against Scott Brown’s Fleetwood, who are unbeaten in their last six
SHEFFIELD UNITED v Tottenham, 7.55pm Wednesday, BBC One
This has the feeling of a classic FA Cup tie: Championship high-flyers out to shock one of the big boys.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side got over a brief bump in their road to promotion with a convincing win over Watford on Saturday.
It puts them seven points clear of third-placed Middlesbrough with a game in hand and, though Michael Carrick’s Boro are capable of catching them, it feels a huge ask.
Blades’ talents are spread across the pitch but Iliman Ndiaye is the star man. The Senegalese star has 17 goal contributions in the Championship this season, behind only Chuba Akpom and Viktor Gyokeres.
Two Manchester City loanees, Tommy Doyle and James McAtee, are also flourishing for the South Yorkshire side.
Just shy of 30,000 people packed into Bramall Lane for Saturday’s win and a big crowd is expected again, with Blades set to give Spurs a fright.
CHANCE OF A SHOCK 3/5
Iliman Ndiaye is Sheffield United’s star man as they host Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday