The top clash of the FA Cup fifth round between today and tomorrow, will be played at Goodison Park as Everton host Aston Villa.
Everton start favourites to advance to the quarter-finals, with home ground to their advantage. The Toffees want a return to European football at the end of the season and winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1995 would guarantee them a place in the Europa League.
Their victory in the previous round over rivals Liverpool will be an ideal confidence boost for the Merseyside Blues.
On the other hand, Villa, in a strong position to claim a place in the Champions League for the first time, could opt to drop a number of key players to maintain focus on the Premier League.
Martin O'Neill's Villa reached the fifth round for only the second time in nine years after eliminating Doncaster in a replay in round four.
Everton and Villa seep in cup tradition, winning the competition 12 times between them. From seven direct cup clashes, the Clarets just have the edge over the Blues 4-3.
1999-00 (quarter-final): Everton-Aston Villa 1-2
1977-78 (third round): Everton-Aston Villa 4-1
1972-73 (third round): Everton-Aston Villa 3-2
1958-59 (fifth round): Everton-Aston Villa 1-4
1952-53 (quarter-final): Aston Villa-Everton 0-1
1904-05 (semi-final): Aston Villa-Everton 1-1 (Villa win replay 2-1)
1896-97 (final, Crystal Palace): Aston Villa won 3-2
In this season's Premier League, Everton and Villa met at Goodison Park. Villa won 3-2 (Sidwell, Young 2 − Lescott 2).
The other all-Premier League affair in this round of the FA Cup is the tie between West Ham and Middlesbrough at Upton Park today.
Gianfranco Zola has been showing he has good knowledge of the game after steering the Hammers to the top eight in the Premier League.
But, the same cannot be said of his counterpart Gareth Southgate who is on the verge of suffering the same fate of Tony Adams, at Portsmouth, and Luiz Felipe Scolari, at Chelsea, both sacked this week.
Zola, twice winner of the FA Cup as a player for Chelsea, will join a select group to make it to the final as a player and later as manager.
Manchester United are still fighting it out on four fronts this season.
After a short break in Malta this week, manager Alex Ferguson will lead his team to Pride Park where they face Derby County.
This season, these two sides have already met in the two-legged League Cup semi-final.
After they went down 0-1 away, United turned the tables on the Championship side with a 4-2 win at Old Trafford.
While United top the FA Cup winners' list with 11 victories, Derby won the trophy once.
Chelsea, with Dutchman Guus Hiddink as new manager, have high hopes they will return to winning ways, starting from this afternoon when they visit Watford, currently struggling against the drop in the Championship.
Today, the Blues will be under the charge of Ray Wilkins. Hiddink takes over next week.
After sacking Adrian Boothroyd in November, Watford appointed Brendan Rodgers, a former Chelsea employee. Today, he has an opportunity to show Chelsea what they have missed, having been at Stamford Bridge for four years as youth and reserve coach.
Frank Lampard's father, Frank Sr, is also at Vicarage Road as a football consultant.
Swansea, another Champion-ship outfit, have become a potential banana skin for the big boys and Fulham will have to be careful not to finish at the end of another giant-killing act as they visit the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea and Fulham have only met once in the FA Cup before, in the 1995-96 tournament. The Londoners massacred the Welsh team 7-0 at Craven Cottage in the first round.
In last year's competition, Blackburn Rovers were among the cup victims when they were knocked out by Coventry 4-1.
So, the Rovers will surely want to put the record straight against the Sky Blues.
At Bramall Lane, Sheffield United, fifth place in the Championship, received a setback when they lost at home 1-2 to Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby last week.
Away from the league, Kevin Blackwell's Blades will cross swords with Premier League newcomers Hull for a place in the last eight of the FA Cup.
A postponed tie from the previous round will be played on Monday night when Arsenal face Cardiff at the Emirates Stadium.
FA Cup enthusiasts will remember Cardiff's win over Arsenal to become the only club to take the trophy outside England in 1927.