Match Preview: Macclesfield v Brentford | OneFootball

Brentford host National League North side Macclesfield at Leasing.com Stadium in the FA Cup fourth round on Monday (7.30pm kick-off), live on TNT Sports.

In the previous round, the sixth-tier side knocked out current holders Crystal Palace to deliver one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history. The Bees beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Hillsborough Stadium.

Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.

Pre-match Analysis

Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: What Brentford can learn from Macclesfield's previous giantkilling

Brentford travel to Macclesfield this Monday with one clear aim: to avoid becoming the latest scalp claimed by the FA Cup’s greatest giantkillers.

The National League North outfit knocked out current holders Crystal Palace in January to deliver the biggest upset in the competition’s history in terms of league position, with the Silkmen starting that day ranked 117 places below Palace in the English football pyramid.

Captain Paul Dawson’s towering first-half header put Macclesfield ahead before Isaac Buckley-Ricketts doubled their lead after the break to further stun the holders. Yeremy Pino’s stoppage-time free-kick set up a tense finale, but the Silkmen held firm to seal a monumental victory, as Macclesfield became the first non-league team to eliminate the reigning FA Cup holders since 1908/09.

With Brentford seventh and Macclesfield sixth in their respective divisions, there are currently 122 places between the two sides - but the Bees would be wise to view Macclesfield’s seismic success against Palace as a case study rather than a fairytale.

A combination of factors helped John Rooney’s side clip the Eagles’ wings, and Brentford can learn plenty from what Macclesfield did well (and what their Premier League opponents did less so) back in January.

Macclesfield’s numbers against Palace indicate a bold approach that paid off spectacularly. The Silkmen registered 13 shots to Palace’s 12 and were willing to shoot from all angles, with nine of their efforts coming from outside the box.

On home turf at Moss Rose, Macclesfield were also tenacious, with their competitive edge perhaps surprising a Premier League side expecting a less intense affair away from the rigours of the top flight. Captain Dawson embodied that spirit in midfield, winning 15 of his 30 attempted tackles and becoming the first non-league player to score against the holders since Rocky Baptiste for Farnborough Town against Arsenal in 2003.

Brother of former Manchester United and England forward Wayne, Macclesfield manager Rooney has links to the top flight - but so too does 21-year-old defender Luis Lacey, brother of Red Devils academy prospect Shea Lacey.

Against Palace, Lacey offered the Silkmen a valuable outlet going forward, completing the joint-most dribbles of any player on the pitch while also excelling with his long-range distribution, including three accurate long passes.

There is no doubt Macclesfield did plenty right to prevail against Palace, but the FA Cup holders also contributed to their own downfall.

Despite enjoying 71 per cent possession, the Premier League side repeatedly handed encouragement to their hosts. England internationals Adam Wharton (24 occasions) and Marc Guehi (21) gave the ball away 45 times between them, and Brentford should aim to avoid cheap turnovers that energise the crowd this Monday.

Palace dominated territory without converting that control into a genuine threat. The Eagles mustered only four shots on target - including their goal - during the third-round clash and won just three corners at Moss Rose, generating only 0.09 xG from those.

In this regard, Brentford head coach Keith Andrews may look to maximise his side’s strengths from dead balls. This term, the Bees have managed a shot from 38 per cent of their set-pieces, and they are likely to find joy if their delivery is right.

Macclesfield have shown that the magic of the cup remains potent - and Brentford will need to manage both the occasion and their opponents’ strengths to book their place in the last 16.

Scout Report

Dan Long, Sky Sports: The remarkable rise of Macclesfield

Macclesfield FC will turn six years old in October - and the journey over their first five years is something to behold.

The club was formed by Rob Smethurst and Robbie Savage as the phoenix club of Macclesfield Town, who were wound up in September 2020 after 152 years.

In 2021/22, they won the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. In 2022/23, they won the Northern Premier League Division One West. In 2023/24, they finished second in the Northern Premier League Premier Division - but in 2024/25 they won that title too, picking up a stunning 32 more points than they had the year before.

Savage was head coach for the latter and, though his stock was high as a result, in an interview with BBC Radio Manchester shortly after the title was sealed Savage said: “It’s my club and it’s not very often you can manage your club, the one you’ve built from the first brick with your best friend, so it would take an awful lot for me to leave. There are League One and League Two clubs I wouldn’t go to if they offered me the job now because I can’t see the journey or the project.”

But on 1 July 2025, he did leave to take over as manager of National League side Forest Green Rovers, replacing Steve Cotterill, who had failed to secure promotion back to the EFL at the first time of asking.

Former player John Rooney - who had announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2024/25 season - was quickly announced as his successor. “There can be no doubt that John is fully invested in the club’s journey on an emotional level, and we have every confidence that he will be able to continue our upward trajectory towards the EFL,” the club said in a statement after announcing the news.

It has been quite the introduction to management for Rooney. With 28 games played in the league, Macclesfield sit sixth in the National League North table. They are 19 points behind current leaders South Shields - but, crucially, with up to four games in hand on the teams around them. They reached the FA Trophy fifth round, too.

But the most incredible moment of the season, the club’s short history, and, arguably, the rich history of the FA Cup came just over a month ago on 10 January, when they beat Crystal Palace.

It was a poignant result, too, given the tragic death of forward Ethan McLeod at the age of just 21, less than four weeks earlier.

The Macclesfield story already contains enough chapters for a lifetime, yet it feels as though that story is still very much in its infancy. Six years after reforming, this is a club no longer defined by what they rose from, but by where they can go next.

In the Dugout

John Rooney

John Rooney joined Everton alongside his older brother - Manchester United and England legend Wayne - at the age of six in 1996. But while Wayne progressed to the first team by 2002, John was released the same year.

He joined Macclesfield Town’s youth set-up and played 46 times for the first team before leaving in the summer of 2010. The midfielder then crossed the Atlantic, first joining New York Red Bulls - where he was a team-mate of Thierry Henry - then Orlando City.

However, Rooney only managed 17 appearances across the two spells and returned to England. After time at Barnsley and Bury, he joined fifth-tier side Chester, where he spent three seasons, with 26 goals and 24 assists in 115 appearances. Next came another two seasons in the National League, one at Wrexham, the other at Guiseley after an initial loan spell.

Then he went to Barrow in 2018 and helped the club to a long-awaited return to the EFL in his second season, finishing as the fifth-highest scorer in the division with 17, as the Bluebirds were promoted as champions by way of a points-per-game average of 1.89 in a season curtailed prematurely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rooney did not make the step up to League Two until 2021/22, again with Barrow, after spending a season-and-a-half at Stockport. His second spell there lasted just shy of nine months, though, as he later joined Oldham Athletic on a two-year deal in September 2022. He left the Latics after one season to sign for Macclesfield in August 2023, returning to the town - albeit at the newly-formed club - after 13 years away.

He helped the Silkmen lift the Northern Premier League Premier Division title in 2024/25, which preceded his retirement at the age of 34. And, just a matter of weeks later, following Robbie Savage’s departure, he took on his first non-playing role when he was appointed Macclesfield’s new manager.

The Gameplan

With local Macclesfield reporter Matt Hancock-Bruce

Matt Hancock-Bruce, a local reporter covering Macclesfield, explains how John Rooney is likely to set up his side on Monday night.

"It is going to be a bit harder to predict than usual because they are playing against a Premier League team and cannot expect to play their normal way," he told brentfordfc.com earlier this week.

"Macclesfield’s usual formation is either a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1, fluctuating a bit between the two, but they have quite a consistent line-up.

"The word I would use to describe how they are going to go at it would be 'intensity', which was clear from the Palace game, when it took about four seconds for the captain to go flying in with a header, which meant he had to wear that iconic headband for the rest of the game! That symbolises the attitude they will take into the game and I do not expect that to be any different against Brentford.

"Set-pieces, too. The opening goal against Palace came from a set-piece and I would imagine they will try to use that again, though that might be a challenge because everyone knows how good Brentford are when it comes to that part of the game."

Match Officials

England to referee Silkmen trip

Referee: Darren England

Assistants: Scott Ledger and Akil Howson

Fourth official: Tom Nield

Darren England will take charge of Monday's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Macclesfield.

The Yorkshire-born official has refereed Brentford more than any other club side in his career, with the game at Leasing.com Stadium being the 22nd Bees fixture he has had the whistle for.

October's 1-0 loss against Manchester City at Gtech Community Stadium is one of 18 matches he has overseen in all competitions during 2025/26, and England has brandished 68 yellows and two red cards so far this term.

VAR will not be in use.

Previous Round

Sheffield Wednesday 0 Brentford 2, (FA Cup, 10 January 2026)

Brentford booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 2-0 victory against Championship side Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Reiss Nelson and Keane Lewis-Potter were both denied by the woodwork before the latter poked in a Mathias Jensen free-kick to open the scoring.

Midway through the second half, Jensen emphatically finished from the penalty spot after Romelle Donovan had been brought down in the box to make sure of the result.