Michael Owen: FA Cup 5th Round Preview

Burnley had to settle for a point at home to Brighton on Saturday whilst Bournemouth recorded their first win in five with a narrow win against Birmingham.

That was Bournemouth’s first match since Jason Tindall left his position. Since then, Jonathan Woodgate and Harry Redknapp have been installed in the interim, so the duo will be looking for a fairy tale start here.

That said, Bournemouth are in transition and they come up against a side that are very organised. With that in mind, I think Burnley will get through by a narrow margin.

Both sides come into this having drawn each of their fixtures at the weekend. However, their recent form has been good overall, so I’m expecting a tight game here.

David Moyes makes his return to Manchester and I expect his West Ham side to keep it tight. That could mean that we’re in for a low scoring affair, as United are much more free-flowing when playing on the counter-attack.

This could be a case of who blinks first, but I fancy United to get through to the next round.

Swansea are going well in the Championship; however, they face the ultimate test up against a City side that are playing as well as they have for some time.

I really like Swansea’s style of play, but I do believe that their main target is promotion this season. Also, I City seem hungrier than ever right now and I reckon they’ll not only win here but be in the mix when the medals are handed out in May.

Despite losing out to Chelsea at the weekend, it’s been a decent spell of late for Sheffield United. With Premier League survival seemingly out of grasp, a cup run wouldn’t be the strangest of things ever to happen.

We’ve seen plenty of teams at the lower end of the table flourish in cup competition in recent seasons, so I think the Blades will approach this with a positive outlook.

Bristol City have done well so far, however, up against a Premier League side, I think they’ll just fall short.

Brighton are playing as well as I can remember just now. Huge wins against Liverpool and Tottenham came prior to a 1-1 draw against Burnley, and despite not getting maximum points in the latter, Seagulls fans will be happy I’m sure.

Leicester’s mid-season momentum has quelled slightly, however, the return of Jamie Vardy will be a welcome sight. If he returns to the side here, I could see him playing a big part in a Leicester win.

Spurs got a much needed win against West Brom at the weekend. There is no hiding how reliant they are on Harry Kane, so Spurs’ fans will have everything crossed that he stays fit for the remainder of the season.

They take on an Everton side that have been solid of late. Coming back from 2-0 then 3-2 down at Old Trafford is no mean feat and it just shows how much fight they have in their side right now.

I don’t think there’s much between these two on paper, however, I think Everton have enough character to grind out a result and make it through.

For so long this season I have been singing the praises of Southampton, but they have had a couple of weeks to forget. The weekend defeat against Newcastle, for me, was more down to a lack of confidence than anything else.

They take on a Wolves side that have blown hot and cold for most of the campaign, however, on their day they can be very awkward to play against.

Again, this one could be tight, but I’m going with Wolves to go through in what I expect to be a low scoring affair.

It’s been so far, so good for Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea. The Blues certainly look more solid and come into this with their tails up after a good run of results.

Barnsley will be hoping Chelsea will have an off day here and even if that was the case they’d need to be at their very best.

I can only see this one going one way, and that’s with Chelsea being in the draw for the quarter-finals.