Arsenal, Chelsea Aim to avoid FA Cup upsets

 Chelsea's Joao Pedro, center, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Chelsea in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP)
Chelsea's Joao Pedro, center, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Chelsea in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP)
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Arsenal, Chelsea Aim to avoid FA Cup upsets

 Chelsea's Joao Pedro, center, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Chelsea in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP)
Chelsea's Joao Pedro, center, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Chelsea in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP)

Arsenal head to Mansfield and Chelsea face Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round, with the Premier League clubs aiming to avoid embarrassing giant-killings, while Liverpool bid to avenge a painful defeat at Wolves.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend's fifth round action:

Wrexham get taste of big time

Owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, Wrexham are no strangers to star power these days, but the Championship club will get a taste of what they hope their future looks like when Chelsea visit the Racecourse Ground on Saturday.

Wrexham are fighting to win promotion to the Premier League to cap an incredible rise since Reynolds and Mac bought the team in 2020.

Currently sixth in the second tier, Wrexham are aiming to make it four successive promotions this term, which would ensure the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City are among the glamourous visitors to the modest north Wales town next season.

With that lofty goal in mind, Phil Parkinson's side can measure themselves against elite opposition in the shape of eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea.

Wrexham have already beaten Nottingham Forest in the third round this season.

And Parkinson hopes they can rekindle the spirit that inspired the club, then in the fourth tier, to a famous FA Cup win over Arsenal in 1992.

"I think you've got to go into every game believing and if not, you may as well not turn up," Parkinson said.

"We've got to go in with belief but also an understanding of the underdog mentality and what boxes we've got to tick to make it as difficult as possible for Chelsea."

Mansfield

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough has a rich heritage as the son of one of football's most iconic managers, but FA Cup success has been elusive for his family.

Clough's father Brian led Derby and Nottingham Forest to one English title each and won the European Cup twice with the latter, but was never able to get his hands on the FA Cup.

The closest he came was a 1991 final defeat against Tottenham when his son Nigel was in the Forest attack.

Clough senior died in 2004, but Nigel has kept searching for FA Cup glory and the 59-year-old has a chance to spring a stunning upset when Premier League leaders Arsenal visit Field Mill on Saturday.

Clough has guided Mansfield to the FA Cup last 16 for the first time in 51 years after beating Burnley in the fourth round.

Currently 16th in the third tier, it would be an even more remarkable achievement to knock out Arsenal.

"We actually drew them in the Youth Cup here earlier on this season and they won 4-0. There were two or three players playing that night that would cause us problems in our first team, such is the quality that they have," Clough said.

Liverpool must bite back at Wolves

Branded "slow and predictable" by furious captain Virgil van Dijk after their shock 2-1 loss at Wolves in the Premier League on Tuesday, Liverpool return to Molineux on Friday looking to set the record straight.

Arne Slot's side produced one of their worst performances in a dismal campaign as bottom-of-the-table Wolves snatched only their third league win this season thanks to Andre's late strike.

Despite spending £450 million ($599 million) on new signings in the close-season, Liverpool have mounted a woeful title defense, leaving the FA Cup and the Champions League as their last chances for silverware.

Languishing in sixth place, the Reds have been hampered by injuries and the under-fire Slot said: "It's the model that we don't have 25 players over here.

"Then it hurts even more if you have three or four long-term injuries at the moment."



Report: France’s Ekitike Out of World Cup with Ruptured Achilles

 Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
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Report: France’s Ekitike Out of World Cup with Ruptured Achilles

 Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike lies injured during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)

France forward Hugo Ekitike suffered a ruptured Achilles during Liverpool's Champions League clash against Paris St Germain on Tuesday and will miss the World Cup, French newspapers Le Parisien ‌and L'Equipe ‌reported on Wednesday.

The ‌23-year-old ⁠pointed to his ⁠Achilles tendon as medical staff attended to him before he was carried off on a stretcher at Anfield, ⁠where Liverpool lost ‌2-0 ‌in their quarter-final second leg, ‌exiting the competition with ‌a 4-0 aggregate defeat.

The French football federation (FFF) was not immediately available for ‌comment.

Ekitike has 17 goals in all competitions this ⁠season ⁠since Liverpool signed him from Eintracht Frankfurt for 69 million pounds ($93.58 million) in July.

The World Cup is being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11-July 19.


Asia Cup Draw Set for May 9 in Saudi Arabia

A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)
A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)
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Asia Cup Draw Set for May 9 in Saudi Arabia

A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)
A landmark is lit up in the colors of the national flag in Diriyah on the occasion of Saudi National Day. (SPA file)

The draw for the 2027 Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia next month, Asian football officials said on Wednesday, after being postponed when the Middle East war broke out.

The draw was supposed to take place on April 11 in Riyadh, but the event was moved "to ensure the full participation of all key stakeholders and participating member associations", the Asian Football Confederation said.

It will now be held on May 9 at the historic At-Turaif District in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Kuala Lumpur-based federation said.

The 19th edition of the Asian Cup is scheduled to take place from January 7 to February 5 next year, and 23 out of 24 participating nations have been confirmed.

The final berth is to be decided with a Group B tie between Lebanon and Yemen rescheduled to June 4, the AFC said.

Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar are the host cities.

The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four.


Arsenal Faces Pivotal Week with Key Games in the Champions League and Premier League

 Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)
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Arsenal Faces Pivotal Week with Key Games in the Champions League and Premier League

 Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta arrives to take a team training session at London Colney, north of London, on April 14, 2026, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League, quarter-final, second leg football match against Sporting Lisbon. (AFP)

A crucial week for Arsenal starts Wednesday night against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Mikel Arteta's team faces two huge games in its pursuit of a Premier League and Champions League double this season.

Leading 1-0 against Lisbon after the first leg in Portugal last week, Arsenal is closing in on a place in the semi-finals for the second successive year. Then on Sunday it faces Manchester City in a top two showdown in the Premier League.

Arteta said there was “zero fear” ahead of a potentially pivotal few days.

“We are in April, we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Let’s confront it, let’s go for it by really putting absolutely everything into it,” he said.

Arsenal's form has slumped in recent weeks — losing the English League Cup final against City and then being dumped out of the FA Cup by second division Southampton. Last weekend it was beaten at home in the league by Bournemouth, allowing City to close the gap at the top of the standings to six points with a game in hand.

For now, the focus is on the Champions League, a trophy Arsenal has never won.

“I said to the players, ‘guys, we are trying to do something that hasn’t been done in the history of the club in 140 years. So that tells you the difficulty of what you are doing,’” Arteta said.

Declan Rice faced a late fitness test after missing practice on Tuesday. Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were also doubtful starters.

Arsenal or Lisbon will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals after the Spanish club beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate.