Manchester City are favorites to win this season's FA Cup and salvage something from a troubled season but the seven other clubs left in a wide-open draw may never have a better opportunity to win the trophy.
None of the five most successful clubs in FA Cup history -- Arsenal, holders Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool -- are in the quarter-finals.
City, who travel to Bournemouth on Sunday, won the Cup for a seventh time two years ago but of the other teams in this weekend's quarter-finals, the most recent winner is Nottingham Forest who went all the way in 1959.
The combined FA Cup triumphs of the eight clubs left is 18 -- the lowest since 1997 -- and seven of those were for Aston Villa who have not won it since 1957.
Second-tier Preston North End, who host Villa on Sunday, are statistically the third most successful FA Cup team left but 1938 was the last time they lifted the trophy.
Action begins on Saturday with a London derby between Fulham and Crystal Palace, two clubs who have never won the FA Cup or any major silverware for that matter.
Fulham reached the final in 1975 while Palace have made two finals, losing to Manchester United in 1990 and again in 2016.
A cracking atmosphere is expected at Craven Cottage as the evenly-matched Premier League rivals seek a semi-final spot.
Saturday's later game sees Brighton & Hove Albion, whose one FA Cup final appearance was in 1983, host Forest.
Like Forest, Brighton are also chasing European qualification through the Premier League and they will be keen to avenge a 7-0 league hammering against Nuno Espirito Santo's team at the beginning of February.
Brighton are unbeaten since then and Fabian Hurzeler's in-form side are tipped to make him the youngest manager to win the FA Cup since Stan Cullis, also 32, led Wolverhampton Wanderers to the trophy in 1949.
"In this phase of the season, we need to have the belief. And I have the biggest belief in this group -- the belief that they can win and that they can achieve a season everyone remembers," the German said on Friday.
Preston are bidding to become the first club outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2008.
Sitting 14th in the Championship table, they will hope a passionate crowd at Deepdale will help them stun a Villa team who have reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2015 when they went on to reach the final and lose to Arsenal.
"We are in the quarter-finals and that's a bit of magic for the Cup," Preston midfielder Stefan Thordarson. "It's harder and harder but we have shown that teams like us can do it.
"It's up for grabs for anyone this year."
The quarter-finals conclude on Sunday with Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth hoping to shut off Manchester City's last remaining route to silverware this season at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth, four points behind City in the Premier League in 10th spot, are in the quarter-finals for only the third time.
"I think we have a big opportunity this weekend, anyone who steps on the pitch has to be ready to give everything, and even that might not be enough to beat City," Iraola said.
"But the chance to play at Wembley -- for City it is less important as they play there a lot, but for us it is huge."
City are seeking a seventh successive semi-final.
