The FA Cup fourth round draw produced two ties between Premier League teams.
Today, at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton cross swords with Crystal Palace and Tottenham host Leicester City at White Hart Lane.
Palace and Southampton last met in the FA Cup semi-finals of the 1976 tournament and on that occasion it was the Saints who prevailed 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Southampton are enjoying one of their best seasons in the Premier League. Currently third in the standings, Ronald Koeman’s men are well on course to write a new chapter in the club’s history and qualify for the Champions League.
In the previous round, Southampton needed a replay to oust Ipswich 1-0 after the opening match at St Mary’s had ended in a 1-1 draw.
Since Alan Pardew took over at Palace, the Londoners seem to have found their form.
In fact, they eliminated non-League Dover away 4-0 in the previous round of the FA Cup and continued with their good work when registering back-to-back wins in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur (home) 2-1 and Burnley (away) 3-2.
In the Premier League this season, Southampton beat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Boxing Day.
In past FA Cup clashes, Palace lead Southampton 3-2 on wins.
1976 (semi-final)
Southampton-C. Palace - 2-0
1973 (third round)
C. Palace-Southampton - 2-0
1965 (fourth round)
Southampton-C. Palace - 1-2
1957 (second round)
C. Palace-Southampton - 1-0
1955 (first round replay)
Southampton-C. Palace - 2-0
1955 (first round)
C. Palace-Southampton - 0-0
At White Hart Lane, Tottenham take on Premier League strugglers Leicester.
This will be the 10th meeting between the two teams in the cup. The highlight of all is the final of 1961 which saw Tottenham lift the trophy after winning 2-0 to complete a League and Cup double.
Yet, in their last meeting of 2006 Leicester beat Spurs 3-2 in the third round.
Premier League leaders Chelsea should find little difficulty in progressing to the next round when they entertain League One side Bradford City.
Captain John Terry has warned his team-mates though that they cannot be considered a great side side unless Chelsea win some silverware this season.
Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from their poor showing in the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the league when they tackle Championship hopefuls Middlesbrough at home.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini criticised the decision-making of his captain Vincent Kompany after the Belgian conceded the penalty that set Arsenal on the way to their first win at the Etihad Stadium since 2010.
Meanwhile, FA Cup holders Arsenal travel to the Falmer Stadium tomorrow to face Brighton while Liverpool host Bolton Wanderers who have ex-Reds striker Emile Heskey leading their forward line.
A Midlands derby is scheduled for St Andrew’s as Championship side Birmingham take on WBA.
New WBA manager Tony Pulis is looking to revamp his squad by bringing in two to four players this month. It seems that Wigan winger Callum McManaman is top of Pulis’s wish-list.
Fixtures and forecast...
FA Cup fourth round
Birmingham-West Brom - 2
Blackburn-Swansea (13:45) - 2
Cardiff-Reading - 1
Chelsea-Bradford - 1
Derby-Chesterfield - 1
Liverpool-Bolton (18:30) - 1
Man. City-Middlesbrough - 1
Preston-Sheffield United - X
Southampton-Crystal Palace - 1
Sunderland-Fulham - 1
Tottenham-Leicester - 1
Tomorrow:
Aston Villa-Bournemouth (16:00) - 1
Brighton-Arsenal (17:00) - 2
Bristol City-West Ham (15:00) - 2
Monday: Rochdale-Stoke (21:00) - 2
The Championship
Norwich City-Brentford - 1
Watford-Blackpool - 1
Wigan-Huddersfield Town - 1
Wolves-Charlton Athletic - 1
League One
Colchester-Leyton Orient - X
Fleetwood-Crawley - 1
Gillingham-Oldham Athletic - 2
MK Dons-Barnsley - 1
Notts County-Peterborough - X
Port Vale-Crewe - 1
Yeovil-Coventry City - X
League Two
AFC Wimbledon-Accrington - 1
Bury-Carlislem - 1
Cheltenham-Luton - 2
Mansfield-Wycombe - 2
Northampton-Newport - X
Oxford-Exeter - 1
Plymouth-Morecambe - 1
Portsmouth-Southend - X
Shrewsbury-Stevenage - 1
Tranmere-Hartlepool - 1
York-Burton - X
Hot four
Norwich, Watford, Wigan, Wolves.