Premiership and FA Cup reach crucial stage

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): The Premiership and FA Cup share top billing in England this weekend. With each at a crucial stage, the weekend promises to be one of the most dramatic and intense of the season.

Pride of place in an intriguing fixture list goes to Manchester United following its 4-0 mid-week thrashing of Porto in the European Cup semifinal first-leg.

After another heady night at the Stadium of Dreams, manager Alex Ferguson must refocus his players as they journey to Roker Park tomorrow for a game against relegation haunted Sunderland.

There is mixed news on the injury front at Old Trafford. David May returned after a six-week absence to score the opening goal against Porto, Roy Keane, however, missed the game and remains doubtful for tomorrow.

The recurrence of an ankle injury meanwhile has sidelined Nicky Butt for another two weeks, Paul Scholes though is close to full fitness following a cartilage operation.

With Cantona back from suspension and Andy Cole discovering form and fitness, Ferguson will soon have a full compliment of players from which to select as he goes in search of both domestic and European glory.

Manchester United now stands four points clear of Liverpool and six ahead of Arsenal which has played one game more.

The optimism and self-belief around Old Trafford is in marked contrast to the doubt and failing confidence at Liverpool and Newcastle, second and fourth respectively in the Premiership, which meet at Anfield on Monday night.

Unable to produce the consistency of old, Liverpool slumped to its fourth away defeat of the season against Aston Villa last weekend. Despite scoring 35 goals this season, the afternoon hinged on vital missed chances by Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore.

The visit of a still suspect Newcastle defense to Merseyside should be all the incentive the Liverpool forwards need to put its Championships challenge back on course. The visitors defense is unlikely to be as charitable as the corresponding game last season when Liverpool won 4-3 with a late Collymore goal.

Nothing

The fear, then, as now, on Tyneside is that Newcastle United will again end up winning nothing. This feeling intensified mid- week after its 1-0 home defeat to AC Monaco in the UEFA Cup quarterfinal first leg.

The mood on Tyneside, following so closely on last weekend's shock home defeat to Southampton, is one of gathering gloom. With Alan Shearer out for another month and Les Ferdinand carrying injuries, the responsibility has fallen to the likes of David Ginola and Faustino Asprilla who, while possessing marvelous touch, are the wrong type of players for another tortuous Championship run in.

With a draw the likely result at Anfield, Arsenal could move into second place and keep its feint title hopes alive with a victory over Nottingham Forest at Highbury.

Arsenal, in common with Newcastle, has key players missing. Goalkeeper David Seaman recently had knee surgery and will be out for another six weeks, while Tony Adams and Paul Merson will have late fitness tests.

For all its endeavor in a difficult season, the players have not helped by their poor disciplinary record. Missing through suspension against Forest will be Ian Wright, Steve Bould and Ray Parlour.

Slide

Elsewhere in the Premiership, Leicester City, boosted by victories over Wimbledon and Aston Villa in the past week, travels to Highfield Road to play fellow Midlanders Coventry City. Everton, meanwhile, visits Leeds United to try to reverse a slide that has seen it takes just four points from its last twelve games.

The one FA Cup quarterfinal tie set for tomorrow is the all- Premier League clash between Derby County and Middlesbrough.

In what amounted to a dress rehearsal Wednesday night, the Teeside club turned current form on its head beating Derby 6-1 at the Riverside Stadium. Fabrizio Ravanelli scored a second-half hat trick as Bryan Robinson's talent-laden side claimed its biggest league victory of the season.

Robson may well wish that Ravanelli had saved a couple of goals for tomorrow, however, as Derby will present a far more formidable hurdle at home. As it demonstrated in beating a star- studded Chelsea side 3-2 last weekend.

Chesterfield and Wrexham are set for their own second division Cup final at the Recreation Ground on Sunday. The two sides met in the second round of the Cup last season with Wrexham running out 3-2 winners.

Only six teams from what is effectively the third tier of English football have ever reached the last four. Plymouth Argyle being the last in 1984. No team from this level has ever reached the final.

Having progressed at the expense of a controversial penalty against Leicester City, Chelsea takes its foreign legion to the south coast to play first division Portsmouth.

The attacking options created by the French, Dutch and Italian influences suggest a Chelsea win. Portsmouth, however, has little respect for reputation as it proved in the last round beating Leeds United 3-2 at Elland Road.

The last and most intriguing of the quarterfinal ties pits Sheffield Wednesday against Wimbledon. Sixth and seventh respectively in the Premiership, the contest could not be more evenly balanced.

Having lead the Premier League for the first month, Wednesday has again come good with just one defeat in its last 22 games. To the interesting blend of youth and experience in Ritchie Humphreys, Des Walker, David Hirst and Steve Nicol, manager David Pleat has added the classy continental touches of Dutchman Reggie Blinker and Italian Benito Carbone.

Having drawn at Coventry on Monday evening, its fourth game in nine days, the suspicion is that Wimbledon's pursuit of three titles is fast running out of gas. The combination of crowded fixture list, injuries and tired legs give Wednesday an edge in a game that has all the makings of a draw.

Down but never out, Wimbledon has battled the odds ever since it was admitted to the Football League 20 years ago. The concern though, in this its best ever season, is that it may come away with nothing.

Fixtures

Saturday: Derby County v Middlesbrough; Sunday: Chesterfield v Wrexham; Portsmouth v Chelsea; Sheffield Wednesday v Wimbledon