FA Cup Fixtures 14th February

Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur
Bolton have a number of injuries but they don’t seem to include Sam Ricketts. Both the Bolton manager Owen Coyle and Sam’s fellow defender Zat Knight have confidence in him and for that matter, so do I. I know it’s wrong but I want Tottenham to win. Gareth Bale has still only won one League game and he’s been their best player. He deserves another win. So it’s time for his team-mates to get off their arses.

Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
They’re not far from relegation and they’ve sold one of their best players but Palace remain one of the giant-killers of the FA Cup and now they have Aston Villa in their sights. They’ll have a job getting past Villa’s defence though. James Collins might be on the bench as Martin O’Neill could play a weakened side. James and his fellow centre backs, Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuéllar (although Carlos has often played right back) have scored seven goals between them in the League this season. That’s one more than strikers John Carew and Emile Heskey have managed between them although neither has really had a good run in the side.

Fulham v Notts County
At least Fulham are at home. They are much stronger at home so it’s by far the best place to face the League Two side who dumped out Wigan Athletic. Simon Davies could play again for Fulham but he has to have another fitness test on his ankle. Fulham just haven’t been looking after him properly. Maybe it’s not their fault, even experienced medical professionals can get things wrong with injuries sometimes but how many comebacks from this injury has he had? Four?