Five talking points ahead of this week's Emirates FA Cup fourth round replays

Tuesday 04 Feb 2020
Wayne Rooney could add to his FA Cup goal tally against Northampton Town

The Emirates FA Cup is back already, with six ties still to be settled in the form of fourth round replays this week. 

Five of those are set to take place on Tuesday 4 February, including Shrewsbury Town's highly-anticipated trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, while Tottenham Hotspur will host Southampton in Wednesday night's solitary game. 

The drama of the Cup was in full swing during the original fourth round ties and there will no doubt be a deluge of action to look forward to in the replays, so with that in mind, here's a look at some of the major talking points. 

Can Rooney play Red Devils' advocate?


Since his Manchester United departure back in 2017, Wayne Rooney's career has been full of surprises starting with a return to his boyhood club Everton, followed by an American adventure with DC United and not least his latest foray into Championship football with Derby County. 

But the path may yet lead back to his old club, as after coming through a third round clash with Crystal Palace, the Rams now face a fourth round replay with Northampton Town for a shot at the 12-time winners in the next round. 

Rooney currently sits third in the list of all time FA Cup scorers on 22 goals and a win over Northampton could hand the 34-year-old an opportunity to increase that tally against former team-mate and current United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp won't be taking charge of his team's replay with Shrewsbury on Tuesday

Klopp-out

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp picked a predominantly young and inexperienced team for their first fourth round meeting with Shrewsbury Town, but were stunned to see the League One side fight back to earn a replay at Anfield. 

The Reds had been two goals to the good and in control, but the inspired introduction of Jason Cummings by Shrews boss Sam Ricketts saw the Scottish striker score twice to earn a 2-2 draw and a trip to their opponent’s famous home. 
 
A less-than-impressed Klopp announced in his post-match interview that there would be no senior players involved in the replay and that he wouldn't be in charge of the team either with U23s boss Neil Critchley set to take his place in the dugout.

Return of the Faz

Newcastle haven't made life easy for themselves in this year's FA Cup with their third round clash with Rochdale needing a replay before a stalemate with Oxford United in the fourth round produced the same outcome. 

The trip to St James's Park for the first tie was special enough for the League One side and for one individual the experience would've been one filled with nostalgia. 

Oxford's assistant coach Dereck Fazackerley was once Kevin Keegan's number two, and Newcastle's first team coach, between 1992 and 1999 before later linking up with Keegan again for England. 

Now the 68-year-old will be hoping to get one over on his former team in the replay at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday, with a trip to West Bromwich Albion in the fifth round the potential prize for a famous win.

Dereck Fazackerly (R) during his time on the England coaching staff

Home or Away?

The Birmingham City and Coventry City narrative has been a strange one this season with the two clubs sharing the same home ground, St Andrew's, for the 2019-20 season. 

The situation was made all the more interesting when the clubs were drawn against each other in the fourth round with Coventry 'hosting' Birmingham in a stalemate. 

This time around, it will be Birmingham to 'host' Coventry at the same venue as they battle it out for a real away day to Leicester City in the next round. 

The game that keeps on giving

Southampton's trip to Spurs on Wednesday night will be the third meeting between the two sides this year and the fourth this season. 

Honours are even in the Premier League with one win apiece, but Spurs' lapse in concentration in the final minutes of their fourth round tie gave Saints the opportunity to equalise and potentially have the last laugh. 

Jose Mourinho will be desperate to get his hands on his first FA Cup title since winning the 2007 edition with Chelsea, but an in-form Southampton side will be no walk in the park. 

By Tom Dean