This season the sixth-tier club Maidstone United have beaten Ipswich Town, who have defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have beaten Manchester City — who became world champions last month. Maidstone’s win at the weekend over an Ipswich side four divisions higher than them reflected the romance of the FA Cup: an anagram of the winning goalscorer Sam Corne is “Romances”.
For the first 100 years after the league’s expansion to three tiers in 1920 no non-League club outlasted all teams from the third and fourth tiers (the fourth tier was formed in 1958), but then Boreham Wood did so in the fifth round in 2022 and Maidstone will emulate them if Wrexham lose away to Blackburn Rovers on Monday night.
Maidstone have beaten teams from six different tiers in this run: the ninth, seventh (twice), sixth, fourth, third and second. Their three league victims all sit in the top six of their divisions: Barrow are fourth in League Two, Stevenage sixth in League One and Ipswich second in the Championship.
There are Stones at either end of the FA Cup betting list: John Stones of favourites Manchester City at the top and the Stones (Maidstone’s nickname) at the bottom. The last 16 of the FA Cup will feature two M Uniteds for the first time: Maidstone United and Manchester United.
Everton out on their own
In the past three months Everton have scored own goals at home in the Premier League (Ashley Young against Brighton & Hove Albion), the Carabao Cup (Michael Keane against Fulham) and the FA Cup (Vitaliy Mykolenko against Luton Town on Saturday).
Sean Dyche won more FA Cup ties in one season as a player in the third tier — six wins with Chesterfield in 1996-97, when they reached the semi-finals — than in his past six seasons as a Premier League manager (five wins with Burnley and Everton).
American presidents William Harrison and Woodrow Wilson were born in the state of Virginia: at the weekend Everton equalised through Jack Harrison but Cauley Woodrow scored Luton’s winner past the goalkeeper João Virgínia.
Goal flood
Brighton & Hove Albion, who beat Stoke City 4-2 in the third round and Sheffield United 5-2 in the fourth round, are the first top-flight team since Derby County in 1933 whose first two FA Cup games of a campaign were away wins in which they conceded at least twice. Derby beat Wolves 6-3 and Southend United 3-2.
Brighton, who have scored nine goals in their two FA Cup games this season, moved 2-0 ahead in their ninth cup match of the campaign when their No 9 João Pedro scored his ninth penalty out of nine this season. He added another as he completed a hat-trick, which means he is the top-flight player who has scored the most penalties in all competitions this season (ten) and also the player who has won the most spot kicks (fouled six times).
The only top-flight team eliminated by lower-division opponents in this season’s competition have been West Ham United:
Busy City
Tottenham Hotspur lost to Manchester City, who could play more than 50 per cent more games than them this season (62 to 41); Liverpool could play 63. For the second year in a row City’s fourth-round tie against North London opponents was brought forward to the Friday and they won 1-0 through a second-half goal by Nathan Aké — they beat Arsenal last season. Aké’s 88th-minute winner against Spurs came in what was City’s 32nd FA Cup game in a row to be settled in 90 minutes.
Tottenham and Arsenal’s combined two wins in the two main domestic cups this season — one each — is their fewest for 50 years (they had one in 1973-74).
London culling
London teams were given the benefit of 13 home ties out of 14 in the FA Cup third and fourth rounds this season yet if Chelsea lose their replay away to Aston Villa there will be no teams from the capital in the last 16 for the first time since 1901-02.
The seven FA Cup fixtures played on Fridays in the third and fourth round this season have averaged only one goal per game but all other matches in these rounds have produced 3.4 goals per game. This season is due to feature the first FA Cup matches played on February 29 since 1972.
Anfield Goliaths slay Davids
Liverpool have lost only one of their past 42 games played in England. In consecutive months a team managed by David has conceded five in a cup match at Anfield — West Ham United’s David Moyes in the Carabao Cup and Norwich City’s David Wagner in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Leicester pick on Birmingham
Leicester City have beaten Birmingham City in all eight FA Cup ties between them — they are only the second club to defeat specific opponents in their first eight FA Cup meetings (Chelsea did so against Hull City)
Red letter days
Nottingham Forest will not have played any team later alphabetically than Bristol City in their first seven games of 2024: their opponents, in order, will have been Blackpool, Blackpool, Brentford, Bristol City, Arsenal, Bournemouth and Bristol City.
Scales balanced
Relatively speaking, AFC Wimbledon were four players better off at the final whistle on Saturday than at the end of their previous game (an advantage of two rather than a deficit of two): they had two players sent off against Milton Keynes Dons last Tuesday but at the weekend it was their opponents Mansfield Town who had two players dismissed.
