FA Cup fifth-round predictions: Lawro v Hot Property star Yung Filly
Liverpool lost in the Premier League for the first time this season on Saturday, but will they survive their trip to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup?
The Reds’ tie at Chelsea (Tuesday, 19:45 GMT) is one of two fifth-round ties you can watch live on BBC television this week, along with Sheffield Wednesday versus Manchester City (Wednesday, 19:45). In addition West Brom v Newcastle and Spurs v Norwich will be streamed live on the iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website and app.
BBC Sport’s football expert Mark Lawrenson has taken a look at all eight ties and given his verdict on who will make it into the quarter-finals – and Hot Property star Yung Filly has made his predictions too.
Filly, who is known for his viral comedy and entertainment videos, is presenting series two of the BBC Three show, which is coming to iPlayer on 15 March.
Hot Property sees young daters visit the homes of potential suitors, and meet their mates, before deciding who to go on a blind date with. You can watch series one on iPlayer, here.
When it comes to football, Filly is a Crystal Palace fan – and has been since he moved to Bromley, aged eight.
“One of my neighbours, Charlie, was a die-hard Palace fan and my best friend at the time,” Filly told BBC Sport.
“He took me to my first Palace game, and that was it. I have never looked back.
“My favourite players when I was growing up were Victor Moses and Dougie Freedman – now, it has to be Wilfried Zaha.”
Palace look like they are safe from the drop after Saturday’s win over Brighton, but Filly has pretty much given up on having anything more than survival to celebrate.
“It is strange being a Palace fan, because I never expect too much from them – I am a realist,” he explained. “The only thing I ask is for us not to be relegated.
“I just don’t feel that with our squad we have what it takes to consistently compete against the top teams or play in Europe. We would probably need a financial takeover and a big investment in the team to change that.
“We are a Premier League team, which is great, but I don’t really see anything exciting happening to us like winning a major trophy – and we are already out of the FA Cup!”
FA Cup fifth-round ties | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Gap | Result | Lawro | Filly | |
MONDAY | ||||
Portsmouth v Arsenal | 37 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-3 |
TUESDAY | ||||
Chelsea v Liverpool | 3 | x-x | 1-1* | 1-2 |
Reading v Sheff Utd | 28 | x-x | 0-2 | 0-2 |
West Brom v Newcastle | 7 | x-x | 0-1 | 0-1 |
WEDNESDAY | ||||
Leicester v Birmingham | 32 | x-x | 2-0 | 3-0 |
Sheff Wed v Man City | 30 | x-x | 0-2 | 0-4 |
Tottenham v Norwich | 13 | x-x | 2-0 | 1-0 |
THURSDAY | ||||
Derby v Man Utd | 28 | x-x | 0-2 | 0-2 |
Gap = how many league positions separate each team
There are no replays so * denotes who will win on penalties.
LAWRO’S FA CUP FIFTH-ROUND PREDICTIONS
All kick-offs 19:45 GMT unless otherwise stated.
Key: | |
---|---|
PL = Premier League | C = Championship |
L1 = League One | L2 = League Two |
H = Home | A = away |
r = required a replay | pens = penalties |
MONDAY
Portsmouth 0-2 Arsenal
Lawro’s prediction: 0-2
Filly’s prediction: 0-3
TUESDAY
Chelsea v Liverpool
Premier League (4th) | v | Premier League (1st) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: Hull City (C) A | 4R: Shrewsbury (L1) Hr | |
3R: Nott’m Forest (C) H | 3R: Everton (PL) H |
Liverpool’s unbeaten start in the Premier League is over, and I actually think there is a part of Jurgen Klopp that is happy about it.
Saturday’s defeat at Watford means people will stop asking him about whether the Reds can go the entire league season without losing, when my impression was he was getting annoyed by that. He is only bothered abut winning the title – and anything after that is a bonus.
Now they can get on with the rest of their season, starting with this tie.
I don’t think Klopp will play as many kids this time – after Dejan Lovren’s performance at the back at the weekend I would definitely be playing him, because he looked unbelievably rusty.
The bench from Saturday will probably play, so I would expect to see Adrian, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi for starters.
You will see young players like Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Neco Williams, who featured against Everton in the third round, here again too but as part of what will be a pretty strong team.
I am not sure how Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will approach this tie, though.
His priority surely has to be a top-four finish and the Champions League, because next summer is going to be a big one for their recruitment, and they probably need to be in it to attract the players they want.
So this tie is hard to call, but I have a feeling it will go the distance.
It has to be decided on the night and I think it will end in a shootout, which Liverpool will win.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1 – Liverpool to win on penalties.
Filly’s prediction: 1-2
Reading v Sheff Utd (20:00 GMT)
Championship (16th) | v | Premier League (8th) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: Cardiff (C) Ar pens | 4R: Millwall (C) A | |
3R: Blackpool (L1) Ar | 3R: Fylde (NL) H |
Reading picked up their first home win since Boxing Day when they beat Barnsley on Saturday.
I cannot see them making it two in a row, though, because we know how good Sheffield United are – they always seem to produce a decent performance – and because they have had a bit of a rest too.
The Blades did not play at the weekend because their opponents, Aston Villa, were in the Carabao Cup final, and they have only had three games since they beat Millwall in round four at the end of January.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-2
Filly’s prediction: 0-2
West Brom v Newcastle (20:00 GMT)
Championship (1st) | v | Premier League (14th) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: West Ham (PL) A | 4R: Oxford Utd (L1) Ar | |
3R: Charlton (C) A | 3R: Rochdale (L1) Hr |
West Brom are still top of the Championship despite losing at home to struggling Wigan on Saturday.
Newcastle picked up a Premier League point against Burnley, despite again failing to score – they have now gone four league games without finding the net, since a 2-2 draw against Everton on 21 January.
At least they are still scoring in the FA Cup, but they have needed replays to get past Rochdale and Oxford United so far and this time they will have to get the job done first time around.
Can they do it? Yes. I think the Baggies will field a weakened team for this tie, which will obviously help the Magpies – but I am not exactly expecting a Newcastle goal glut.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-1
Filly’s prediction: 0-1
WEDNESDAY
Leicester v Birmingham
Premier League (3rd) | v | Championship (15th) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: Brentford (C) A | 4R: Coventry (L1) Hr pens | |
3R: Wigan (C) H | 3R: Blackburn (C) H |
Birmingham are unbeaten for 10 games in the Championship and their big striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is a handful up front.
I still fancy Leicester here, though, despite their poor recent form and the fact they seem to struggle without Wilfred Ndidi in midfield – he is back in training after his knee injury but missed Friday’s defeat by Norwich.
A lot will depend on the team they put out – I’ve talked about some of the other teams involved in the FA Cup maybe having different priorities, but why would you not try to get to the final if you were Brendan Rodgers?
A cup run and a day at Wembley is the chance to crown what has already been a very good season for the Foxes, so I think Rodgers will go with a strong line-up.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Filly’s prediction: 3-0
Sheff Wed v Man City
Championship (12th) | v | Premier League (2nd) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: QPR (C) A | 4R: Fulham (C) H | |
3R: Brighton (PL) H | 3R: Port Vale (L2) H |
Sheffield Wednesday are in freefall in the Championship, and I am not sure why.
They are a good, competitive side when you watch them, but after going on a great run to climb up the table, they are now on a dreadful one and dropping down it.
They were third at Christmas but are now eight points off the play-off places after losing eight of their past 13 games, and I always worry about teams who are streaky like that.
Manchester City are not the team you want to be playing when you are struggling, especially in their current mood.
City have had a great week, beating Leicester, Real Madrid and then Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup final, and they have been playing really well too.
They are my favourites to win the FA Cup, and I would not be surprised if they went the rest of the season unbeaten and won the Champions League too.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-2
Filly’s prediction: City only just squeezed it against Villa but this is Sheffield Wednesday, not Real Madrid. 0-4
Tottenham v Norwich
Premier League (7th) | v | Premier League (20th) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: Southampton (PL) Hr | 4R: Burnley (PL) A | |
3R: Middlesbrough (C) Hr | 3R: Preston (C) A |
Sunday’s defeat by Wolves means Tottenham have now lost three games in a row.
Jose Mourinho is still talking about them not having any fit strikers, and at the same time he only brought on teenage centre-forward Troy Parrott for the final moments over the weekend.
So, on the face of it, it might appear Norwich have a chance here, and they will be full of confidence after beating Leicester on Friday.
But then you remember the Canaries have only had one away win in the Premier League all season and, to me, that seems like a good reason to tip Tottenham instead.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Filly’s prediction: 1-0
THURSDAY
Derby County v Man Utd
Championship (13th) | v | Premier League (5th) |
---|---|---|
Who did they beat? | ||
4R: Northampton (L2) Hr | 4R: Tranmere (L1) A | |
3R: Crystal Palace (PL) A | 3R: Wolves (PL) Hr |
I wonder who people might be talking about in this tie? A former Manchester United striker, perhaps?
Derby are not just all about Wayne Rooney, of course, and they are on a good run at Pride Park.
But I cannot look further than a Manchester United win here.
I was at Goodison Park on Sunday to watch their draw with Everton and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side really impressed me – they look a completely different animal compared to a few weeks ago and they are not far away from where they want to be.
When you look right through the team they have got a lot of pace now, and they have also got Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay back to give them a strong base.
Further forward, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood were lively and, overall, the team’s movement was really good.
Bruno Fernandes is at the heart of it all, though. He is obviously a very talented player and suddenly United’s attackers are making runs because they are thinking ‘he is going to keep playing me in’.
If United bring Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford back into the side when they are fit, then you are suddenly thinking ‘they have got a bit of a team here’.
If they were going to Derby without Matic and McTominay then I would not be so sure of the outcome, but those two really do steady the ship.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-2
Filly’s prediction: 0-2
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
How did Lawro do last week?
From last weekend’s Premier League fixtures, Lawro and Formula E driver Sam Bird both got two correct results, with no exact scores from eight games for a total of 20 points.
That goes down as a draw for now, but that could change when the remaining two games – which were postponed because of the Carabao Cup final – are played.
Sam has gone for Sheffield United to beat Villa 2-0 and Manchester City to beat Arsenal 2-1. Lawro will make his predictions when the dates for those rearranged games are announced.
Lawro also correctly backed City to beat Villa at Wembley on Sunday, but he does not get any points for that.
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO’S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- | |
=1 | Liverpool | 28 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 0 |
=1 | Man City | 27 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 78 | +1 |
3 | Chelsea | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 64 | +1 |
4 | Tottenham | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 60 | +3 |
5 | Arsenal | 27 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 46 | +5 |
6 | Leicester | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 44 | -3 |
7 | Man Utd | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 43 | -4 |
8 | Burnley | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 38 | +1 |
=9 | Everton | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 37 | +2 |
=9 | West Ham | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 37 | +7 |
=9 | Wolves | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 37 | -3 |
12 | Watford | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 35 | +5 |
13 | Aston Villa | 27 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 34 | +6 |
14 | Bournemouth | 28 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 32 | +4 |
15 | Newcastle | 28 | 8 | 3 | 17 | 27 | -1 |
16 | Southampton | 28 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 24 | -3 |
17 | Brighton | 28 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 23 | -2 |
18 | Sheff Utd | 27 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 22 | -10 |
19 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 21 | -8 |
20 | Norwich | 28 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 13 | 0 |
GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20
Score | Guest leaderboard |
---|---|
160 | Gabriel Luna |
140 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
110 | Daisy May & Charlie Cooper |
100 | Adam Peaty |
90 | Avelino, Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Bobby Seagull, Geraint Thomas |
80 | Tom Davis, Andy Murray, Stephen Graham |
73 | Lawro (average after 28 weeks) |
70 | David Baddiel, Richard Hawley, Kojo, Michael Johnson, Craig Mitch, Alex Scott |
60 | Sonny Bill Williams, Georgia, Katie Ormerod, Serge from Kasabian, Stefan Ratchford |
50 | Chelcee Grimes, Reece Parkinson, Sam Warburton |
40 | Stephen Fry, Hugh Grant, Neil Jones, Tommy O’Dell, Steve Queralt |
30 | Matthew McConaughey, Seth Rollins |
20 | Sam Bird |
Total scores after week 28 | |
---|---|
Lawro | 2,040 |
Guests | 1,900 |
Lawro v Guests | |||
---|---|---|---|
P28 | W17 | D3 | L8 |