FA Cup fifth-round predictions - Lawro v Radio 1 DJ and Arsenal fan Jack Saunders
- Published
Former Manchester United boss David Moyes takes his West Ham side to Old Trafford on Tuesday in one of the standout ties of the FA Cup fifth round.
Moyes, who spent 10 months as United manager in the 2013-14 season, has not won any of his five meetings with them since - but will things be different this time? You can find out by watching live on BBC One and the BBC Sport website from 19:00 GMT.
BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson has given his verdict on all eight midweek ties and he is joined in making predictions by Jack Saunders, who presents Radio 1's Future Artists every Monday to Wednesday from 22:00 to 00:00 GMT, and The Indie Show at the same time on Thursdays.
Arsenal have won the FA Cup four times in the past seven years, including last season, and hold the record for most wins overall, with 14. This year, however, their defence was ended by Southampton in round four. "We can't win it every year," said Jack. "We've got to give someone else a chance!"
Jack is an Arsenal fan, but had his grandfather had his way, he would have been supporting West Ham instead.
"He was a devout Hammer and I was bought endless Paolo di Canio shirts for Christmas and birthdays when I was younger in a bid to try to make me one too," Jack explained.
"But most of my friends were Arsenal fans and I followed that path. This was the heyday of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg - I had my head turned by watching them, and did not look back.
"My favourite player when I was growing up was actually Ashley Cole, though. I know that's a controversial choice because of the way he left us, but what a player he was - one of the best left-backs I have ever seen.
"I was a goalkeeper when I was younger so my heroes should have been David Seaman or Jens Lehmann, but Cole was always so classy in the way he played the game.
"Full-backs are a bit more fashionable now, because of the way they are expected to push high up the pitch, but he was ahead of his time there with the way he would tear down the left, overlapping Robert Pires."
Highlights: Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win FA Cup
It is a frustrating time to be an Arsenal fan, with Mikel Arteta's side stuck in mid-table in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup after Southampton ended their defence of the trophy in round four.
Jack feels better times are around the corner though, because of the young players who are coming through the ranks - and Arteta.
He added: "The future is so exciting for us and I am totally behind Arteta. I think he is doing what Jurgen Klopp did when he took charge of Liverpool and got rid of all the dead wood as fast as he could. That still takes time, though.
"I can understand why we got criticised for putting up such a poor defence of the FA Cup against Southampton, including Arteta's team selection, but I understood the thinking behind it.
"We have had a lot of success in the FA Cup in the past few years, and it has been brilliant of course.
"But this is Arsenal Football Club we are talking about and there are even bigger things for us to achieve with this team - challenging at the top of the Premier League is one of them, and being in the top four and in the Champions League at the very least.
"That is what Arteta is aspiring for. I know our past couple of results have been poor and we have not pushed on and climbed the table, but a few days after losing to Saints with a weakened team in the FA Cup, we played them in the league and beat them, which was the point of him making those changes in the first place."
FA Cup fifth-round predictions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
When? | Gap (league positions) | Result | Lawro | Jack |
TUESDAY, 9 FEB | ||||
Burnley v Bournemouth | 9 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 2-0 |
Man Utd v West Ham | 4 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 2-2P* |
WEDNESDAY, 10 FEB | ||||
Swansea v Man City | 22 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
Leicester v Brighton | 12 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-1 |
Sheff Utd v Bristol City | 10 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1-2 |
Everton v Tottenham | 1 | 5-4 | 1-1P* | 2-0 |
THURSDAY, 11 FEB | ||||
Wolves v Southampton | 2 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 0-1 |
Barnsley v Chelsea | 27 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
*West Ham and Tottenham to win on penalties after extra time. There are no replays. | ||||
LAWRO'S FA CUP FIFTH-ROUND PREDICTIONS
Key: | |
|---|---|
PL = Premier League | C = Championship |
L1 = League One | L2 = League Two |
NL = Non-league | |
H = Home | A = Away |
TUESDAY
Burnley 0-2 Bournemouth
Man Utd 1-0 West Ham
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Jack's prediction: 2-2 - West Ham to win on penalties after extra time.
WEDNESDAY
Swansea City 1-3 Man City
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Jack's prediction: Manchester City have been in unbelievable form to win 14 games in a row, and they always pick a strong team in the FA Cup. Swansea are flying at the top of the Championship, but I can't see them causing a shock here. 1-3
Leicester 1-0 Brighton
Lawro's prediction: 1-0
Jack's prediction: Brighton are one of the form teams in the Premier League, and I'm not surprised by the run they are on. When we played them at Amex Stadium at the end of December, we beat them, but they were so well drilled and they play good football and posed a threat. Leicester had a bit of a wobble last month but they are back on track now. 2-1
Sheff Utd 1-0 Bristol City
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Jack's prediction: Bristol City have lost four of their past five games in the Championship so they are not exactly in the sort of form to suggest an upset, but maybe Sheffield United will prioritise the league now they have given themselves a glimmer of hope of staying up. If they take their foot of the gas, I can see them going out. 1-2
Everton 5-4 Tottenham
Lawro's prediction: 1-1 after extra time - Tottenham to win on penalties.
Jack's prediction: I've obviously enjoyed seeing Tottenham slip off the pace at the top of the Premier League in recent weeks. I would say I feel sorry for Spurs fans having to watch Jose Mourinho football, but I really don't - I just think football has moved on since he had so much success with Chelsea, grinding out a lot of 1-0 wins, because you can't do that any more. Without Kane, they have got nothing up top, so his return at the weekend will help, but I am still going with Everton.
Everyone laughed at me when I put Dominic Calvert-Lewin in my fantasy football team at the start of the season - I am in a league where we do a draft when we put our teams together, so everyone's got different players - but they are not laughing now. I am 100 points clear at the top. 2-0
THURSDAY
Barnsley 0-1 Chelsea
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Jack's prediction: 1-3
Lawro and Jack were speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
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