Sheffield United
Where are we playing?
Villa Park, Saturday 3pm
Can I go?
Yeah, loads of cheap tickets on sale but North Stand Upper has been nabbed by the Blades who've sold around 5,500 tickets. 400 tickets for Doug Ellis Lower will be available to away fans on the day.
Can I watch it live on the telly?
Nope, you might not even get it on a stream, as only select FA Cup ties are screened live overseas and Rochdale v Leeds appears to be the favoured match, though some countries are showing Grimsby v Huddersfield or Macclesfield v Sheffield Wednesday
Big game?
This tournament is our last chance of winning anything and our last chance of Europe. Lose to Sheffield United and effigies of Paul Lambert may well be burnt!
Do Sheffield United have any famous fans?
Well , Sean Bean off of Game of Thrones is said to be so passionate about the Blades that he once reduced Neil Warnock's wife and child to tears, so legend and Warnock's autobiography has it. They've actually named a stand after Jessica Ennis, which is either a great honour for her or an insult to the great Blades legends of yesteryear, depending on your point of view...
There's also Charlie Webster off of Sky Sports News
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| Devoted Blades fan and sport journo Charlie Webster |
Well , Sean Bean off of Game of Thrones is said to be so passionate about the Blades that he once reduced Neil Warnock's wife and child to tears, so legend and Warnock's autobiography has it. They've actually named a stand after Jessica Ennis, which is either a great honour for her or an insult to the great Blades legends of yesteryear, depending on your point of view...
There's also Charlie Webster off of Sky Sports News
We've got George Weasley off the Harry Potter films.
So we win.
Who's playing for us?
The news of Libor Kozak's broken leg casts a shadow over this one and he'll miss the rest of the season.
Lambert's priority will be the league and after a busy Christmas period, expect to see a few changes from the usual sort of line up. Rushing Ron Vlaar back for Sunderland did him no favours and he'll miss this one. Lambert says the FA Cup is something he could "do without" exposing what a small minded defeatist loser he's becoming.
Who's playing for them?
Dunno yet.
Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:
He said, She said...
Paul Lambert does little for ticket sales: "The cup is not my priority. The Arsenal game’s the most important one."
“The emphasis is on the home team to come at us and break us down, and we don’t fear anyone." - Blades Assistant manager Andy Garner
Prediction
Dunno yet.
Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:
- We played Sheffield United away at this stage of the tournament three years ago, ex-Blade Kyle Walker making an early impression with a goal on his Villa debut after 9 minutes as Villa ran out 3-1 winners despite a sending off for Ashley Young
- That win was revenge after Sheffield United knocked us out at Bramall Lane in 2005, winning 3-1 helped by two goals from Andy Liddell.
- Dwight Yorke had to brave a barrage of snowballs as he slotted home the penalty that eased Villa past the Blades in the FA Cup 4th Round in 1996.
- The last time the two teams met in an FA Cup tie at Villa Park was way back in 1975, two goals from Keith Leonard helping us to a comfortable 4-1 victory.
He said, She said...
Paul Lambert does little for ticket sales: "The cup is not my priority. The Arsenal game’s the most important one."
“The emphasis is on the home team to come at us and break us down, and we don’t fear anyone." - Blades Assistant manager Andy Garner
Prediction
3-1 to Villa, papering over the cracks of our Premier League ineptitude..
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