Man City and Arsenal drawn apart in FA Cup

Manchester City are odds-on favourites to win the FA Cup at 10/11 after dumping out league leaders Chelsea in the fifth round.

The 2011 champions face a repeat fixture of last season’s final against Wigan where the current Premier League side were beaten 1-0. If you want to be brave, back the Latics at 66/1 to defend their crown.

Wigan manager Uwe Rosler will be particularly excited about the tie for personal reasons, as he returns to the club where he played as a centre forward for four years in the mid-1990s.

Arsenal (3/1 to win the FA Cup) host Everton (6/1) in the pick of the draw after beating fellow Premier League clubs Liverpool and Swansea respectively.

The Gunners will be especially pleased of their progress after fielding a slightly weakened team against Brendan Rodgers’ side ahead of their crunch Champions League match with Bayern Munich on February 19th.

As for Liverpool, they will be very disappointed having just recently thrashed Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield. They also have no midweek European games to worry about and it seems their hopes for a trophy this season are now fading with only the Premier League a small possibility.

Elsewhere, there is a potential derby on the cards as Sheffield United (66/1) face either city rivals Sheffield Wednesday (66/1) or Charlton (150/1).

The League One strugglers saw off Nottingham Forest (3-1) to reach the quarters and hope that it will give them momentum and much-needed confidence to beat the drop.

Hull and Brighton battle it out on February 17th for a place in the last eight, where Sunderland awaits. There is a chance that former Seagulls boss Gus Poyet could return to the south coast if the Championship side win their duel.

From the draw, it is clear that Man City have by far the easiest match-up – out of the top sides – and are favourites to win the cup. This really could be Manuel Pellegrini’s year, as the club are still very much in all four competitions.

But don’t count out Arsenal, who are desperate for their first piece of silverware since 2005.