Arsenal, Man City eye trophy haul, Macclesfield more FA Cup 'miracles'

London, United Kingdom – As the Premier League’s heavyweights pause their title duel, Arsenal and Manchester City turn to the FA Cup fourth round this weekend with history in their sights: both clubs can still complete an unprecedented quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.

City already matched Manchester United’s 1999 treble last May, but no English side has ever added the League Cup to that haul. The two giants will meet in early April at the Etihad in a league showdown that could decide the championship, yet first they must avoid slipping on the competition’s traditional banana skins. Arsenal host 2013 winners Wigan Athletic, currently mired in the League One relegation zone, while City welcome fourth-tier Salford City—co-owned by Manchester United icons David Beckham and Gary Neville—hoping to erase memories of an 8-0 humiliation of the Ammies last term.

Aston Villa and Newcastle United, meanwhile, collide in Sunday’s marquee tie at Villa Park. Villa’s last FA Cup triumph came in 1957; Newcastle’s in 1955. Although the Magpies ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by lifting the League Cup last season, a bruising Premier League campaign has left Eddie Howe’s side in 10th place and likely without injured captain Bruno Guimaraes. Emery’s Villa, third in the table but conceding the title race is all but over, view the Cup as their most realistic route to silverware after three barren decades.

Further down the pyramid, sixth-tier Macclesfield Town dream of back-to-back miracles. The Silkmen’s third-round eviction of holders Crystal Palace represented the biggest upset in FA Cup history by ranking gap—117 places—and they could break their own record when seventh-placed Brentford visit Moss Rose on Monday. “We went into the Crystal Palace game thinking it would take a miracle,” said Macclesfield manager John Rooney, brother of former England captain Wayne Rooney. “There will be a lot more eyes on us expecting an upset, but that’s testament to the club.”

With the draw for round five scheduled for Monday evening, the Premier League’s elite will hope to remain on course for a clean sweep, while underdogs plot the next chapter in Cup folklore.

FA Cup fourth-round schedule (all times GMT): Saturday: Burton v West Ham (12:15), Burnley v Mansfield, Norwich v West Brom, Manchester City v Salford, Southampton v Leicester, Port Vale v Bristol City (all 15:00), Aston Villa v Newcastle (17:45), Liverpool v Brighton (20:00) Sunday: Birmingham v Leeds (12:00), Grimsby v Wolves (13:30), Stoke v Fulham, Oxford v Sunderland (14:00), Arsenal v Wigan (16:30)