Tough test at Man City awaits

[Jase 43,479]

Chelsea have been drawn to face Premier League title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup 5th round, with the tie to be played on either 15th or 16th February. The pairing of the two giants would mean they would face each other twice next month with the same fixture taking place in the league on 3rd February, next Monday.

Both sides qualified for the fifth round comfortably though Manchester City had some scares along the way. Manuel Pellegrini's side were held to a 1-1 draw in the third round by Championship side Blackburn before thrashing them 5-0 in the replay at the Etihad. They then faced Watford in the following round at home and found themselves 2-0 down at half time before a Sergio Aguero hat-trick inspired the Citizens to a 4-2 win.

Chelsea, on the other hand, had no such problem despite facing tricky ties. Mourinho's men beat a determined Derby County 2-0 at the County Ground in the third round and before dispatching Stoke 1-0 with ease at Stamford Bridge earlier today in the last round.

Both sides have played one another four times in the FA Cup history with the last meeting coming in April last season in the semi final where Manchester City edged past the Blues 2-1 before going on to lose the final. The side from Manchester have the upper hand over their London counterpart as they have won 3 and lost only 1 of the 4 meetings in this competition.

Other notable ties in the 5th round will also see Arsenal hosting Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium while Michael Laudrup's Swansea will travel to Goodison Park to face Everton. Current FA Cup holders Wigan will also be on the road as they face Cardiff in Wales and Sunderland will go head-to-head against Southampton at home once more, after having faced the same opponent in the Capital One Cup this season. The full draw for the FA Cup 5th round can be seen here.

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