FA Cup fourth round predictions: Six things we think will happen | OneFootball

The 2024-25 FA Cup resumes this weekend with the fourth round.

Manchester United are the holders and they open up the fourth round with a game on Friday night against Leicester City — a reunion with Ruud van Nistelrooy. That’s one of just four all-Premier League ties in a weekend which also sees Everton host Bournemouth, Chelsea travel to Brighton and Hove Albion, and Aston Villa face Tottenham Hotspur.

There are also a couple of chances for an upset across the weekend. Manchester City travel to London to face Leyton Orient, while Premier League leaders Liverpool take on Plymouth Argyle. The biggest gap between two teams this weekend sees League Two Doncaster Rovers host Crystal Palace.

We’ve taken a look at all 16 matches from the fourth round, and picked out six things we think will happen.

Ruben Amorim to get rare Old Trafford win

The FA Cup fourth round kicks off with a reunion between Van Nistelrooy and Man Utd at Old Trafford. Not only is he a former player, but he has managed the Red Devils this season, before Ruben Amorim took charge.

Now, Amorim hasn’t really enjoyed life at Old Trafford so far. The Portuguese boss has lost five of his nine home games in charge of the Red Devils. That includes two of their last three. Just last weekend, Man Utd were beaten at home in the Premier League by Crystal Palace.

But as bad as things are for Amorim at Old Trafford, it’s worse for Van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman took four points from his first two Premier League games in charge of Leicester. But he’s lost eight of his 10 games since. One of those wins game in the FA Cup against Queen’s Park Rangers, while the other saw Leicester beat Tottenham away from home. But instead of building on that victory, Leicester lost 4-0 to Everton last time out.

James McAtee to add to his account

Pep Guardiola may rest some of his bigger names against Leyton Orient, but Man City will still be expected to have enough to reach the fifth round. They thrashed League Two side Salford City in the third round having rotated heavily, with James McAtee scoring a hat-trick.

The 22-year-old has long been touted as a future fixture in Man City’s team and is likely to get another opportunity to play. Against Salford, McAtee showed his ability to make late runs into the box and finish his chances. He’s also scored in the Premier League and Champions League this season.

In the Premier League, McAtee netted in Man City’s 0-6 away win over Ipswich Town last month. Slovan Bratislava were the opposition for his first ever senior Man City goal, in a 0-4 win in October.

Prediction: James McAtee to score anytime vs Leyton Orient (12/5 with BetMGM)

Fulham to continue run

Fulham are in a strange run at the moment, winning two and losing two of their past four matches. This run comes after the Cottagers went nine games unbeaten including one match in the FA Cup third round.

But Fulham do also guarantee goals on the road. The Cottagers have scored two goals in each of their past five away games. Liverpool, Chelsea, West Ham United, Leicester and Newcastle United are the teams to have shipped exactly two goals to Fulham during that run.

Even when looking back across the season as a whole, Fulham have scored two in an away game on eight separate occasions. And they’re yet to score three on the road.

Chelsea to win “grudge” match

Chelsea and Brighton are building up something of a heated rivalry, at least in the eyes of some fans. It stems from Chelsea raiding Brighton a handful of times in recent years. Graham Potter, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez all switched the Amex Stadium for Stamford Bridge.

Those still at Chelsea are booed by Brighton fans, whether they’re playing home or away. Even Levi Colwill is booed by the Seagulls faithful, simply for returning to Chelsea from his loan at Brighton. The switches from Brighton to Chelsea coincided with the Seagulls going five games unbeaten against the Blues, winning two matches.

But, Chelsea are now in a good run of form against Brighton. Chelsea have won each of their past four games against Brighton across all competitions, though only one of those came at the Amex. The Blues won the previous league meeting this season 4-2, and Brighton are now winless in their past five home matches now.

Cody Gakpo to break duck

Cody Gakpo scored again in the Carabao Cup in midweek. He netted the opening goal for Liverpool as they overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Tottenham 4-1 in the semi-finals. It as Gakpo’s ninth goal in 11 Carabao Cup games since joining Liverpool.

He doesn’t have the same relationship with the FA Cup, though. Gakpo has played seven games in the FA Cup for Liverpool, amassing 522 minutes in the competition. He’s started six of those games, but is yet to score. Last season, he blanked across four matches, taking nine shots with a total Expected Goals tally of 1.36.

But could this be Gakpo’s time to break his duck? The Dutchman has scored nine goals in 15 games across all competitions since the start of December. Five of those goals have come in 2025 too. Plymouth are the opponents, and they’ve been a little leaky of late, conceding 10 goals in their pats four games. That includes a 0-5 home defeat to Burnley in the Championship.

Prediction: Cody Gakpo to score anytime vs Plymouth (23/20 with BetMGM)

Aston Villa to add to Tottenham’s misery

Tottenham suffered defeat in the Carabao Cup on Thursday, beaten 4-0 at Anfield by Liverpool. It got rid of one of Ange Postecoglou’s chances of winning a trophy in his second season. But there’s no time for Tottenham to lick their wounds.

Sunday sees Spurs travel to Villa Park to face an Aston Villa side that will no doubt be dreaming of cup success. They’ve already experienced Champions League football after so many years, so lifting the FA Cup would end another long wait. And they’ve got a team capable of going far in the FA Cup.

Tottenham did beat Aston Villa 4-1 in the league earlier this season, but that was at home. And the current form of both sides point towards a home win. Aston Villa are unbeaten in their past 10 games at Villa Park across all competitions, winning six of those. Tottenham, meanwhile, have lost five of their eight away domestic games since the start of December. And one of their three wins came after extra-time in the FA Cup third round. Against non-league Tamworth.

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