Premier League and FA Cup predictions: Villa and Spurs win, Liverpool knock out Man United

We pick out the winners and losers from this weekend’s English fixture list

Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez will be a major threat to Manchester United in the FA Cup this weekend

A busy mix of Premier League and FA Cup quarter-final fixtures take place this weekend ahead of the upcoming international break.

In the league, only Aston Villa and Tottenham Hostpur are in action out of the top six, with the two clubs having played each other last weekend. And it was a game to forget for Unai Emery’s side who were thumped 4-0 at home, leaving Spurs two points behind Villa with a game in hand.

At the other end of table, Burnley – who are ahead of bottom-club Sheffield United only on goal difference – and fellow strugglers Luton Town both play. Burnley drew at West Ham United last time out while Luton inexplicably let a three-goal lead slip away from them to lose 4-3 at Bournemouth on Wednesday.

In the FA Cup, Liverpool and Manchester City are hoping to keep their quadruple hopes alive after their Premier League stalemate at Anfield on Sunday as they take on Manchester United and Newcastle United in their respective ties.

Second-tier sides Coventry City and Leicester City are looking to pull off shocks against top-flight opponents Wolves and Chelsea.

You can see our predictions for the latest round of fixtures below.

Saturday: FA Cup – Wolves v Coventry City (4.15pm kick off UAE)

Wolves continued their recent good run under manager Gary O’Neil by defeating Fulham 2-1 at Molineux last week, their third win in four games, that leaves them ninth in the Premier League table. They beat Brighton 1-0 in the previous round to set-up this home tie.

Coventry crushed sixth-tier Maidstone 5-0 in the fifth round which saw striker Ellis Simms score a first-half hat-trick. Mark Robins’ side are currently eighth in the Championship, one point shy of a play-off spot, having won 2-1 at Watford on Saturday.

Prediction: Wolves 3 Coventry 1.

Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, left, celebrates after scoring a penalty to equalise against Manchester City in the Premier League game at Anfield on March 10, 2024

Manchester City v Newcastle United (9.30pm)

City remain on course to repeat last season’s treble as they sit third in the Premier League, one point behind leaders Arsenal and second-placed Liverpool, and having secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals. City thrashed Luton Town 6-2 in the FA Cup fifth round with Erling Haaland scoring five.

A largely second-string Newcastle side knocked City out of the League Cup in September thanks to an Alexander Isak strike but have lost twice to Pep Guardiola’s side in the league. The Magpies lost 3-2 at Chelsea on Monday night leaving them 10th in the Premier League and they needed a penalty shoot-out to defeat second-tier Blackburn Rovers in the last round of the FA Cup.

Prediction: Man City 4 Newcastle 1.

Premier League – Burnley v Brentford (7pm)

Burnley missed out on a fourth league win of the season when they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at West Ham in what would have been their first victory in 10 attempts. The Clarets are 10 points shy of safety with 10 games left.

The Bees are enduring their own miserable run at the moment with their defeat at Arsenal on Saturday meaning that Thomas Frank’s side have won just three Premier League games since early November.

Prediction: Burnley 1 Brentford 1.

Luton Town v Nottingham Forest (7pm)

A huge game for the Hatters, who remain in the relegation zone after somehow letting slip a 3-0 half-time lead against Bournemouth only to concede four in the second half. They face Nottingham Forest, who are three points and one place above the Hatters in 17th in the Premier League. It finished 2-2 when the two teams met in October when late goals from Chiedozie Ogbene and substitute Elijah Adebayo earned Luton a point.

Nuno Espirito Santo has replaced Steve Cooper as Forest manager since that match but the Portuguese has struggled to change the club’s fortunes. They lost 1-0 at Brighton on Sunday and have lost four of their last five games.

Prediction: Luton 2 Forest 1.

Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur (9.30pm)

Fulham failed to make it three wins in a row when they fell to a narrow defeat at Wolves last weekend and are 12th in the table, eight points shy of the European places.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou described last week’s performance against top-four rivals Villa as “outstanding in all facets” and Spurs could move back into a Champions League spot with victory here, with Villa not in action until 24 hours later.

Prediction: Fulham 1 Spurs 3.

Sunday: FA Cup – Chelsea v Leicester City (4.45pm)

Chelsea will be looking to build on Monday’s Premier League victory over Newcastle, that left the London club in 11th place, one point behind the Magpies with a game in hand. Mauricio Pochettino’s side defeated second-tier Leeds United 3-2 to reach the FA Cup’s last eight.

Leicester sealed their quarter-final spot by defeating top-flight Bournemouth thanks to a superb extra-time strike from Abdul Fatawa. The Foxes drew with Hull City at the weekend and are three points clear at the top of the Championship as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.

Prediction: Chelsea 2 Leicester 1.

FA Cup – Manchester United v Liverpool (7.30pm)

Manchester United remain sixth in the Premier League thanks to Saturday’s 2-0 win at home to Everton. They needed a last-minute goal from Casemiro to beat Nottingham Forest in the previous round of the FA Cup.

Liverpool are still fighting on three fronts with the League Cup already safely in the bag, they have one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals having crushed Sparta Prague 5-1 in last week’s last-16 first leg and are second in the Premier League, albeit only on goal difference to Arsenal. They eased past Southampton 3-0 in the FA Cup fifth round.

Prediction: Man United 2 Liverpool 3.

Premier League – West Ham v Aston Villa (4.30pm)

West Ham needed an injury-time leveller from Danny Ings to rescue a point at Burnley and remain seventh in the table having taken seven points out of a possible nine in their last three games.

Villa will be looking for a positive reaction following last week’s disastrous home drubbing by Spurs that also saw captain John McGinn sent off for a reckless tackle.