2025–26 FA Cup Fifth Round Draw: Wrexham Land Premier League Giants, Arsenal Out to Avoid Upset

The FA Cup fifth-round draw has thrown up a pair of eye-catching David-versus-Goliath ties, with League One Mansfield Town welcoming Premier League pacesetters Arsenal and Championship promotion hopefuls Wrexham set to entertain Chelsea in what many are already calling the tie of the round.

For Mikel Arteta’s side, the trip to Field Mill represents a potential banana skin. Nigel Clough’s Mansfield, buoyed by a come-from-behind fourth-round victory over top-flight Burnley, will fancy another shock when the sides meet on the first weekend of March. The Stags have already eliminated one Premier League outfit this winter and know that another upset would move them within one win of a Wembley appearance.

Wrexham’s reward for their own giant-killing run is a home date with Chelsea, who coasted past Hull City in the last round. The Welsh club, pushing for promotion from the Championship, will welcome the Blues to a raucous Racecourse Ground where the Hollywood-backed outfit have made a habit of upsetting the odds.

Holders Crystal Palace and fallen giants Manchester United are already out, thinning the field of traditional heavyweights and leaving the competition tantalisingly open. Liverpool, reaching the fifth round for only the third time in 11 seasons, will look to Mohamed Salah’s proclaimed talisman Dominik Szoboszlai to maintain his blistering form when Wolves visit Anfield.

Manchester City, not at their free-scoring best against Salford City, still dispatched the League Two side and now face a familiar foe in Newcastle United—whom they overcame in the recent Carabao Cup semi-finals. The Magpies, should they navigate a Europa League playoff against Qarabağ, could yet juggle European commitments with a cup quarter-final push.

The full fifth-round line-up is: Liverpool, Fulham, Sunderland, Southampton, Wrexham, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham United, Mansfield Town, Norwich City, Port Vale or Bristol City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Macclesfield or Brentford, and Leeds United. Matches will be played on the first weekend of March, days before Champions League last-16 first legs kick off, forcing England’s elite to balance domestic dreams with continental demands.