FA Cup Fifth Round Replay Fixtures

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
There’s no doubt that the better team is the one challenging for the Champions’ League place, rather than the one in the relegation battle in the division below (although to be fair to Palace, they should really be challenging for promotion. James Collins has a head injury but he says he’ll be fit for this match and Martin O’Neill thinks that a big, tough lad like James will be fine, even if he hits him over the head with a lump hammer. I think he’s probably right but I don’t recommend trying it.

Stoke City v Manchester City
Having already beaten the best team in the world (indulge me, I mean Arsenal) Stoke now have their second go at beating the richest. Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross has a point to prove after his goal was (probably) wrongly disallowed when the teams faced off in the League.
Danny Collins has a very good chance of keeping his place as one of the other defenders is suspended which is always useful when you’ve been on the bench a lot.
Craig Bellamy could play for Man City as they're short of strikers. Ideally I'd like him to rest up for the Wales match but somehow I don't think he'll be playing in that.

Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers
Bolton are often more difficult to beat when you’re the away team but parking the bus isn’t much use in a Cup match. You can hold out through normal time and extra time but there’s no place for the bus in a penalty shoot-out. Luckily for Bolton none of Tottenham’s players seem able to score penalties at the moment.
Gareth Bale is said to be next in line to take one. I hope he'll only take it if he's happy to. Jamie O'Hara has shown that being young is a big help when it comes to being forgiven for missing a penalty but the pressure on him will still be pretty high and he has only just got his confidence back. He is a brilliant player though.
Owen Coyle might choose to save his better players for the relegation battle so Sam Ricketts might not play. Tottenham will probably be glad. Other than conceding the penalty – which was ultimately unhelpful for Tottenham – he played very well in the original fixture.

West Bromwich Albion v Reading
Reading will be really hoping the hard-working and recently free-scoring Simon Church will be able to play. Simon was substituted at the weekend after suffering a foot injury but will play if he can pass a fitness test.