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Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool in FA Cup fourth round action

London, England | Xinhua | The fourth round of the FA Cup this weekend in England takes center stage with the most interesting game setting the ball rolling on Friday night.

Second-placed Manchester City entertain league leaders Arsenal and Pep Guardiola’s City will look for a win that will hopefully affect their rival’s confidence in the league.

Much could depend on whether both sides play their strongest starting 11’s, or whether Guardiola and his former assistant Mikel Arteta decide to give a chance to fringe players.

Leeds United will hope to put their league worries behind them with a visit to third-tier Accrington Stanley, while Leicester City will aim for an easy 90 minutes against fourth-tier Walsall.

Fulham face a potentially tricky game at home to Sunderland, who are having a good season in the Championship, while Tottenham won’t be able to relax when they visit Championship outfit Preston North End.

The Premier League’s bottom side Southampton entertain Blackpool, who are struggling in the Championship, and Southampton coach Nathan Jones will have to decide whether to risk his star player James Ward-Prowse, or keep him fresh for the league.

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United are also against Championship opposition and it will be an emotional return to Old Trafford for former United legend Paul Ince, who now coaches Reading.

Liverpool needed a replay to get past Wolves in the last round and their reward is a trip to in-form Brighton, less than a month after the Seagulls beat them 3-0 in the Premier League.

Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said that display was the worst he’d seen in his time at the club, so Sunday’s return will be a chance to see if Liverpool have improved since then or not.

The last Premier League side in action are West Ham, who are away to Derby County, currently fourth in League One and looking to bounce back to the Championship after last season’s relegation.

The romance of the FA Cup will also be on show when Wrexham, who are part-owned by Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, entertain Championship high-flyers Sheffield United.

One of Wrexham’s more unusual problems prior to the game is that the club shop has run out of replica shirts due to high demand.

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