FA Cup fifth round, Wrexham eye shock, Lionesses build up – matchday live, as it happened

The FA Cup fifth-round stage delivered a tantalising slate on Saturday, with underdogs dreaming of seismic shocks, Premier League heavyweights on guard and England’s women fine-tuning their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Mansfield Town, fresh from dumping Burnley out in the previous round, opened the programme at 12:15 against Arsenal at Field Mill. Mikel Arteta admitted the state of the League One pitch could influence selection, saying: “It can do, especially if there is a player carrying knocks that the surface could aggravate, but hopefully we have the squad we need.” The Spaniard praised the competition’s romance, adding: “You have to go there, adapt, and make the most of the context.”

Attention then swung to north Wales, where Wrexham welcomed Chelsea at 17:45. Co-owner Ryan Reynolds and Hollywood friend Hugh Jackman, who greeted the draw with undisguised glee last month, watched on as the National League promotion-chasers aimed to add Mauricio Pochettino’s side to their list of scalps. With Wrexham only four points behind Championship high-fliers Fulham in the league pyramid, confidence coursed through the Racecourse Ground.

The evening’s heavyweight tie saw Newcastle renew acquaintances with Manchester City at 20:00, barely a fortnight after their pulsating Premier League meeting. Pep Guardiola’s visitors arrived determined to keep a treble push alive, while Eddie Howe’s Magpies eyed a statement cup run.

Sunday’s sole fifth-round tie pits Fulham against Southampton; the Cottagers’ manager Tonda Eckert told reporters his squad relishes testing itself against top-flight opposition and believes the cup offers a perfect stage.

While the men’s competition dominated the weekend, the Lionesses stole the lunchtime spotlight, hosting Iceland at Nottingham’s City Ground in their second Women’s World Cup qualifier. England boss Sarina Wiegman warned of Icelandic steel: “They are disciplined, physical, direct and have pace. We expect to have the ball, but breaking them down will be hard.”

England XI: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson, Esme Morgan, Taylor Hinds; Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway; Jess Park, Lauren James, Lauren Hemp; Alessia Russo. Iceland XI: Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir; Guðrún Arnardóttir, Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir, Sædís Rún Heiðarsdóttir; Ída Marín Hermannsdóttir, Hildur Antonsdóttir, Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir; Hlín Eiríksdóttir, Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir, Sandra María Jessen.

Elsewhere across the EFL, Championship and international leagues, Monaco shocked Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 to throw Ligue 1 open, Real Madrid left it late to beat Celta Vigo 2-1, Napoli downed Torino and Bayern Munich surged 14 points clear in Germany with a 4-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

As the final whistles sounded, the FA Cup’s last-16 line-up took shape, Wrexham’s Hollywood-backed fairytale marched on and England’s women moved one step closer to Australia & New Zealand 2027.