Chelsea’s Willian (left) keeps Mamadou Sakho, of Liverpool, away from the ball.Chelsea’s Willian (left) keeps Mamadou Sakho, of Liverpool, away from the ball.

The news that dominated the English soccer scene last weekend was the way the top three teams in the Premier League had bowed out of the FA Cup fourth round.

Chelsea, the current league leaders, fell at home to Bradford 2-4, Manchester City lost at Middlesbrough 0-2 and Southampton were edged by Crystal Palace 2-3 at St Mary’s Stadium.

Yet, in midweek Chelsea advanced to the League Cup final where they play Tottenham who were also eliminated from the FA Cup last week by Leicester.

This evening the focus will again be on Chelsea and Manchester City as they clash at Stamford Bridge. At the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, the points were shared after a one-all draw.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho lashed out at his team after the upset to Bradford. He confirmed that he did not say a word to his players after seeing Chelsea blow away a 2-0 lead at home.

The same old failings are haunting champions City but defeat to Middlesbrough showed some new worrying aspects are also becoming recurring themes.

Pellegrini refused to be drawn into an argument about whether the club’s trip to Abu Dhabi this winter had badly effected the team prior to the cup tie against promotion seekers Middlesbrough.

The ten-season record between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge speaks loudly in favour of the home side, having lost only once.

2013: Chelsea-Man. City - 2-1
2012: Chelsea-Man. City - 0-0
2011: Chelsea-Man. City - 2-1
2011: Chelsea-Man. City - 2-0
2010: Chelsea-Man. City - 2-4
2009: Chelsea-Man. City - 1-0
2007: Chelsea-Man. City - 6-0
2006: Chelsea-Man. City - 3-0
2006: Chelsea-Man. City - 2-0
2005: Chelsea-Man. City - 0-0

Third-placed Southampton will be out to erase the shock defeat in the FA Cup when they take on Swansea tomorrow.

As the Saints embark on the second half of what could prove to be an historic season for them, the next few weeks will determine whether they can hold the course.

Southampton striker Shane Long is facing a long lay-off as manager Ronald Koeman admitted defensive errors cost his team a passage to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Manchester United, along with Arsenal, were installed as favourites for the cup after the elimination of the other big guns.

Today, the Red Devils cross swords with Leicester at Old Trafford. Juan Mata has revealed some United players are still getting to grips with Louis van Gaal’s style of football.

This week, Leicester boss Nigel Pearson insisted that the Foxes’ FA Cup win at White Hart Lane is cause for optimism in their relegation fight.

Arsene Wenger, delighted his FA Cup hunt now has less stumbling blocks, play Aston Villa at the Emirates, tomorrow.

Theo Walcott took less than two minutes to tighten the Gunners’ grip on the cup tie at Brighton before telling the rest of the contenders left in the competition − “hands off, it’s ours”.

At Anfield, Liverpool play in-form West Ham who will have Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing gunning against their former club.

The Reds are still in the FA Cup after a 0-0 result at home to Bolton but this week they were eliminated from the League Cup after a 1-0 extra-time loss to Chelsea in the semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Fixtures and forecast

Premier League
Chelsea-Man. City (18:30) - X
Crystal Palace-Everton - X
Hull-Newcastle (13:45) - 2
Liverpool-West Ham - 1
Man. United-Leicester - 1
Stoke-QPR - 1
Sunderland-Burnley - 1
West Brom-Tottenham - X

Tomorrow:
Arsenal-Aston Villa (14:30) - 1
Southampton-Swansea (17:00) - 1

Standings: Chelsea 52; Man. City 47; Southampton 42; Man. United 40; Arsenal 39; Tottenham 37; W. Ham 36; Liverpool 35; Swansea 30; Stoke 29; Newcastle 27; Everton, C. Palace 23; WBA, Aston Villa 22; Sunderland, Burnley 20; Hull, QPR 19; Leicester 17.

The Championship
Birmingham-Norwich - 2
Blackburn-Fulham - 1
Blackpool-Brighton - 2
Bolton-Wolves - 2
Brentford-M’boro (13:15) - 2
Cardiff-Derby - 2
Charlton-Rotherham - 1
Huddersfield-Leeds (13:30) - 1
Ipswich-Wigan - 1
Nottm Forest-Millwall - 1
Reading-Sheffield Wed. - 1

League One
Barnsley-Port Vale - X
Bradford-Colchester - 1
Chesterfield-Doncaster - 1
Coventry-Rochdale - X
Crawley-Preston - 2
Crewe-MK Dons - 2
Leyton Orient-Scunthorpe - 1
Oldham-Notts County - 1
Peterborough-Yeovil - 1
Sheffield United-Swindon - X

Tomorrow:
Bristol City-Fleetwood (16:00) - 1
Walsall-Gillingham (19:00) - 1

League Two
Accrington-Northampton - X
Burton-Bury - X
Carlisle-Mansfield - X
Dagenham-Cheltenham - X
Exeter-Tranmere - 1
Hartlepool-Plymouth - 2
Luton-Cambridge - 1
Morecambe-Wimbledon - X
Newport-Shrewsbury - 2
Southend-York - 1
Stevenage-Oxford - 1
Wycombe-Portsmouth - 1

Scottish League Cup

Semi-finals
Dundee-Aberdeen - X (Hampden Park, 16:00)

Tomorrow:
Celtic-Rangers - 1 (Hampden Park, 14:30)

Scottish Championship
Alloa-Hearts (18.30) - 2
Cowdenbeath-Queen of South - 2
Falkirk-Dumbarton - 1
Hibernian-Raith - 1

League One
Airdrie-Brechin - 2
Ayr-Dunfermline - 2
Forfar-Morton - 1
Peterhead-Stenhousemuir - 1
Stranraer-Stirling Albion - 1

League Two
Albion-Queen’s Park - 1
Arbroath-East Fife - 1
Berwick-Elgin - 1
East Stirlingshire-Clyde - X
Montrose-Annan - 2

Hot four
Man. United, Stoke City, Sunderland, Ipswich Town.

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