Burnley and Coventry battle against top-flight clubs

Seven Premier League clubs and two from the Championship are still in contention in this season's FA Cup. Three quarter-finals and a fifth round tie, between Arsenal and Burnley, will be played this weekend.

Last season, four clubs from the top flight figured in the last-eight round and three of them are also present this year. These are Chelsea, Manchester United and Middlesbrough.

Coventry, from the Championship, play against Chelsea at the Ricoh Arena and Burnley travel to Arsenal. The winners of this tie will play Hull City in the quarter-finals.

Lately, Coventry have shown some of their best football in the Championship. In the last weeks, they beat Norwich (away) 2-1, Birmingham (home) 1-0 and Wolves (home) 2-1. However, in midweek they went down to Sheffield United 1-2 (home).

Manager Chris Coleman has finally succeeded in lifting Coventry to a safe mid-table position. He took over in February 2008, replacing the sacked Iain Dowie.

To reach the last eight, Coventry City eliminated Blackburn Rovers in the previous round in a replay. Leon Best was the match-winner.

This will be the first time that Chelsea and Coventry will cross each other's shadows in the competition.

Some Arsenal followers are losing faith with Arsene Wenger as jeers from a section of the crowd were clearly heard last weekend following a dismal 0-0 draw at home to Fulham.

It seems, the fans have a short memory and forgot all about the injuries Wenger had to deal with this season.

Tomorrow, Arsenal will have home advantage against Burnley.

Burnley ousted Arsenal from the League Cup quarter-finals at Turf Moor in December with a 2-0 win.

Before that, Burnley saw off Fulham and Chelsea. They eventually lost to Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham in the two-legged semi-final.

Burnley are managed by Owen Coyle. He took over in November 2007 to replace Steve Cotterill. Currently, the team is placed in seventh place with 55 points, just one slot outside the play-offs zone.

In the FA Cup, Burnley also saw off a Premier League side in the preceding round, beating West Brom at home 3-1 after a replay.

In past FA Cup clashes, Arsenal lead Burnley 4-2 - the last occasion came in the third round last season when the Gunners won 2-0 away.

Fulham next

After beating Tottenham in a penalty shoot-out to lift the League Cup, Manchester United gear up to play another London team, Fulham, at Craven Cottage.

In the Premier League this season Fulham and United met in February at Old Trafford, where the Red Devils emerged victorious 3-0. The return is scheduled for March 21.

After the League Cup final on Sunday, Alex Ferguson told reporters he was refusing to get carried away by talk of winning five trophies this season.

On past FA Cup meetings, United enjoy a 6-1 advantage over Fulham besides two drawn results.

The last time they met was in 2003-04 at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals - United won 2-1. United went on to lift the cup after beating Millwall in the final.

Everton feel that their name is already written on the cup after ousting top teams Liverpool and Aston Villa in previous rounds.

The last time Everton won the FA Cup was in 1995 (1-0 vs Manchester United). Tomorrow, they play Middlesbrough for a place in the semi-finals.

The return of Louis Saha has given the Blues a confidence booster even though this week it was learnt that they will have to do without forward Victor Anichebe for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

In the fifth round Middlesbrough beat West Ham 2-0 after a replay to claim a place in the last eight for a fourth successive year. Their target should be to clear this hurdle since they only succeeded once in reaching the semis (2006).

In the Premier League this season, Everton could only earn a point at Goodison Park in a 1-1 draw with M'boro but then they won 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium.

In the six times these two teams met in the competition, five of them dragged into a replay. The Blues lead the Boro 4-2.