Arsenal, Chelsea aim to avoid FA Cup upsets

Arsenal head to Mansfield and Chelsea face Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round, with the Premier League clubs aiming to avoid embarrassing giant-killings, while Liverpool bid to avenge a painful defeat at Wolves.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend’s fifth round action:

Wrexham get taste of big time

Owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, Wrexham are no strangers to star power these days, but the Championship club will get a taste of what they hope their future looks like when Chelsea visit the Racecourse Ground on Saturday.

Wrexham are fighting to win promotion to the Premier League to cap an incredible rise since Reynolds and Mac bought the team in 2020.

Currently sixth in the second tier, Wrexham are aiming to make it four successive promotions this term, which would ensure the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City are among the glamourous visitors to the modest north Wales town next season.

With that lofty goal in mind, Phil Parkinson’s side can measure themselves against elite opposition in the shape of eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea.

Wrexham have already beaten Nottingham Forest in the third round this season.

And Parkinson hopes they can rekindle the spirit that inspired the club, then in the fourth tier, to a famous FA Cup win over Arsenal in 1992.

“I think you’ve got to go into every game believing and if not you may as well not turn up,” Parkinson said.

“We’ve got to go in with belief but also an understanding of the underdog mentality and what boxes we’ve got to tick to make it as difficult as possible for Chelsea.”

Mansfield

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough has a rich heritage as the son of one of football’s most iconic managers, but FA Cup success has been elusive for his family.

Clough’s father Brian led Derby and Nottingham Forest to one English title each and won the European Cup twice with the latter, but was never able to get his hands on the FA Cup.

The closest he came was a 1991 final defeat against Tottenham when his son Nigel was in the Forest attack.

Clough senior died in 2004 but Nigel has kept searching for FA Cup glory and the 59-year-old has a chance to spring a stunning upset when Premier League leaders Arsenal visit Field Mill on Saturday.

Clough has guided Mansfield to the FA Cup last 16 for the first time in 51 years after beating Burnley in the fourth round.

Currently 16th in the third tier, it would be an even more remarkable achievement to knock out Arsenal.

“We actually drew them in the Youth Cup here earlier on this season and they won 4-0. There were two or three players playing that night that would cause us problems in our first team, such is the quality that they have,” Clough said.

Liverpool must bite back at Wolves

Branded “slow and predictable” by furious captain Virgil van Dijk after their shock 2-1 loss at Wolves in the Premier League on Tuesday, Liverpool return to Molineux on Friday looking to set the record straight.

Arne Slot’s side produced one of their worst performances in a dismal campaign as bottom-of-the-table Wolves snatched only their third league win this season thanks to Andre’s late strike.

Despite spending £450 million ($599 million) on new signings in the close-season, Liverpool have mounted a woeful title defence, leaving the FA Cup and the Champions League as their last chances for silverware.

Languishing in sixth place, the Reds have been hampered by injuries and the under-fire Slot said: “It’s the model that we don’t have 25 players over here.

“Then it hurts even more if you have three or four long-term injuries at the moment.”