Spurs strive to avoid exit to another London side

From last year's FA Cup quarter-final line-up, only three sides are still in the competition this time round.

These are Chelsea, Manchester City and Middlesbrough. All three failed to reach the 2006 final. Chelsea lost to Liverpool in the semi-finals, City fell to West Ham and Middlesbrough were eliminated by the Hammers in the semi-finals.

Championship side Plymouth Argyle are the only non-Premiership side in the last eight this season.

Tottenham Hotspur, who seem to click when cup football comes along, will leave no stone unturned to topple Chelsea for the second time this season and reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Yet, this time Tottenham, who beat Braga 3-2 away in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, will be playing away.

The Spurs were knocked out by London rivals Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals, going down 3-5 over two legs - 2-2 at home (Berbatov, Baptista og - Baptista 2) and 1-3 away (Mido - Adebayor, Aliadere, Chimbonda og).

Meanwhile, football fans are still talking about last Sunday's cracking derby at Upton Park, already dubbed the 'match of the season'.

Tottenham came from two goals down to record a dramatic 4-3 win at London rivals West Ham.

Adel Taarabt, 17, had a great say in the turnaround when he came on as a substitute. The sea-saw encounter left the fans biting their nails until the very end.

Tottenham have now chalked up four consecutive wins including that remarkable coup at West Ham, scoring 14 goals and conceding five in the process.

This week Tottenham manager Martin Jol said he was disappointed not to have Ledley King at the back as the England international is currently sidelined with a long-term injury.

Yet, Chelsea have also had their share of injured players this season. The ones that hurt most were that of goalkeeper Peter Cech, defender John Terry and midfielder Joe Cole.

Last week, Chelsea's prolific scorer Didier Drogba was crowned African Player of the Year.

On past FA Cup commitments Tottenham lead 4-3, including the 1966-67 final at Wembley where the Spurs won 2-1 (Robertson, Saul - Tambling).

League duels

The all-Premiership FA Cup ties and results this season:

• Tottenham-Chelsea (White Hart Lane 2-1. Dawson, Lennon - Makelele).

• Blackburn-Man. City (Ewood Park 4-2. Sinclair og, Pedersen, McCarthy, Gallagher - Barton, Oijer og. City of Manchester Stadium 0-3. Pedersen 2, Derbyshire).

A double for the Rovers... Pedersen scored in both games.

• M'boro-Man. United (Riverside Stadium 1-2. Morrison - Saha pen, Fletcher).

Manchester United are in the running for a treble. They are very close to winning the Premiership championship, having a nine-point lead on nearest rivals Chelsea and also a better goal difference.

With nine matches to the finish, Chelsea have a game in hand. This week, United reached the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of French side Lille.

This evening they will continue their bid for an FA Cup success when visiting Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

Although Paul Scholes will be missing through suspension, there are other United players who can pull the strings in midfield.

Yet, the most dangerous for the side at the moment is Cristiano Ronaldo. This is arguably his most impressive patch in his career.

The Portuguese winger's dazzling runs and finishing has given the team the edge to defeat opponents when they appear they could neutralise United on the day.

This will be Boro's biggest match of the season and the fans can play their part after the club gave them a bonus by cutting ticket prices.

M'boro will be chasing a cash bonanza if they finish on the winning side.

They are set to receive £265,000 from the FA due to the game being broadcast live on television and an additional £300,000 should they go through.

On past duels, United lead 6-3, the latest being the fourth round 3-0 win at Old Trafford in 2005.

United neighbours Manchester City will also be on their travels in the clash at Ewood Park against Blackburn tomorrow.

Man. City have fallen into a precarious position in the league standings, fourth from bottom. They have now gone five league matches without a point. Moreover, they lost five out of their last six Premiership encounters in front of their own fans.

Blackburn knocked Arsenal out in the previous round after a replay but they had to bow out of the UEFA Cup.

Stuart Pearce's latest accusation, that the Manchester City board did not back him in the transfer market to have more strength in depth, did not go down well with some of the fans, who, in turn, are blaming the coach for this poor run.

Pearce's appointment in the England U-21 coaching set-up was another move the fans resented.

In the last fortnight, Pearce suffered the blow of losing two talented members of his coaching staff in Tim Flowers and Frank Bunn.

On the four occasions Blackburn and Man. City met in the FA Cup, the latter lead 3-1. The Citizens went on to lift the FA Cup twice - (1969) vs Leicester 1-0, and (1934) vs Portsmouth 2-1.

Met in semis

The outcome of past meetings between Watford and Plymouth shows a 2-2 balance. The last time they met was in the 1984 semi-final with Watford emerging victorious 1-0 (Reilly) at Villa Park. Eventually, they went down 0-2 in the final against Everton.

Manager Ian Holloway, who replaced Tony Pulis last summer will encourage the Argyle lads - placed 12th in the Championship and lost four at Home Park - to equal the club record of best achievement in the FA Cup and match the 1984 feat.

Two Plymouth Argyle starlets who have been watched by a horde of Premiership sides are midfielders Dan Gosling and Luke Summerfield.

Watford, struggling against demotion, showed improvement in this last phase of the campaign.

The Hornets have been defeated once in the last four Premiership outings. However, in their last clash with Charlton they let their opponents come back from two-nil down to draw 2-2.