Fulham vs Newcastle United

Fulham and Newcastle United are set to battle it out for a place in the FA Cup fifth round at Craven Cottage.

Fulham fell short in their history-making League Cup semi-final tie against Liverpool (2-3), failing to overturn a 2-1 aggregate deficit in a midweek 1-1 home draw. There’s no time for desperation, as they must switch their focus to the FA Cup, bidding to progress beyond the fourth round for only the second time in seven seasons. The ‘Cottagers’ did reach the quarter-finals last term, but to replicate that run, they must stop a three-game winless competitive streak (D1, L2). Craven Cottage is the ideal territory to help Marco Silva’s side achieve that goal, with Fulham tallying five wins across their last seven home outings (D1, L1). But their disappointing seven-game winless H2H run against Newcastle (D2, L5) suggests this could be the end of the road.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United put long-standing rivals Sunderland to the sword in the previous FA Cup, claiming a 3-0 victory at the Stadium of Light to set up this tie. However, that result against second-tier opposition remains the visitors’ only success in six competitive fixtures (L5). Eddie Howe’s side followed that triumph with a morale-crushing 3-2 home loss to Manchester City despite leading at the break. They’ll look to bounce back at Craven Cottage, where they’ve won their last three visits by an aggregate score of 10-1. Extending that streak would see the ‘Magpies’ make it out of the FA Cup fourth round for only the second time in 18 seasons. But since they’ve gone winless in all three matches in London this term, they should approach this contest with cautious optimism.