The most telling sign that the FA Cup is enjoying something of a renaissance is that few of us are feeling irritable about a February pause in the Premier League action.
That’s partly because the FA Cup has surprised us all with renewed purpose over the last five years.
When Manchester City beat Watford 6-0 in the 2019 final there were fears English football was becoming a monopoly and the FA Cup had become a secondary competition; little more than a distraction for anyone without a billionaire owner.
Instead, each of the five years since have told a compelling story.
In 2020 Mikel Arteta got his Arsenal tenure going with victory; in 2021 Leicester finished their odyssey at Wembley; in 2022 Liverpool moved through agony in the title race and set themselves up for the Champions League final to follow; in 2023 Man City ticked off part two of the treble; and in 2024 Erik ten Hag saved his job at Manchester United against all odds.
But that isn’t the main reason why we’re actually looking forward to this weekend. Yes, it has been a good few years for the FA Cup, but none of them compare to what’s on offer this season.
For once, the FA Cup fifth round feels truly important. The early elimination of the top two Liverpool and Arsenal has opened up the draw and got fans excited about the prospect of winning a competition that for so long has felt out of their reach.
The 'Big Five' clubs - who have shared pretty much every league title and domestic cup over the last 25 years – have won the FA Cup in all but three seasons this century.
Only Leicester, Portsmouth and Wigan have broken the mould and all three were iconic moments, suggesting, with a bit of luck, we’ll get a fourth in May.
Whatever happens it promises narrative drama. There just isn’t a bad story.
Aston Villa can smell a glorious chance to win the competition for the first time since 1957. For a seven-time winner to wait 67 years for their eighth is a ludicrous quirk of history but with a rejuvenated attack it would be fitting for Unai Emery to be the one to do it.
It’s pretty much exactly the same story for Newcastle, another huge club with a rich history who haven’t lifted a trophy in a very long time. Villa at least won the League Cup in 1996. Newcastle haven’t had silverware since 1955.
Watching Eddie Howe’s team triumph at Wembley would be quite the story.
Nottingham Forest are losing their grip on the Champions League places but deserve reward for their season and will fancy their chances of a first FA Cup win since 1959.
Bournemouth have been similarly impressive, yet unlike the three sleeping giants already covered, Andoni Iraola’s side have never won a major trophy.
Brighton, Crystal Palace and Fulham also have empty cabinets. Any one of them capping a strong Premier League season by winning the FA Cup would go down in folklore.
Assuming that going all the way is beyond Ipswich, Wolves or any of the Championship clubs, that just leaves the two least interesting possible winners: Man City and Man Utd.
But the disaster unfolding under Ruben Amorim at United makes the FA Cup particularly important.
There would be a pleasing – and pleasingly ominous – symmetry to Amorim securing his future this May in exactly the same way Ten Hag did.
As for Man City, Pep Guardiola badly needs a boost ahead of a huge summer. To go a season without a trophy for the first time since his debut year in 2016/17 would be crushing, whereas to end a difficult year on a high could change the mood music for the reset.
There isn’t a boring winner among them. Every club in the competition desperately wants to win the FA Cup – and almost every one stands a good shot at doing so.
A break from the Premier League has never felt so refreshing.
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