City Draw Chelsea In The FA Cup

City have been handed a tough assignment in the FA Cup just days before they face Barcelona in the Champions League.

By Danny Pugsley Jan 27, 2014, 9:21pm GMT

The old adage in the FA Cup is that you don't mind who you draw as long as you land a home tie.

City were first out of the hat in yesterday's draw but were handed arguably the toughest opposition in Chelsea, with Arsenal and Liverpool also being paired a couple of teams later after a rather dull draw in the fourth round saw plenty of Premier League sides in the hat.

Not only will both sides be concerned with the prospect of facing one another but they do so in the knowledge that the tie is played just days before the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, where City of course host Barcelona with Chelsea having the advantage of not playing their first leg at Galatasary until the following week.

To further add to the fixture congestion the midweek prior to the FA Cup sees both sides in Premier League action. Fortunately for City, all three games within the busy week are at home (they face Sunderland in the league).

Some big decisions ahead for Manuel Pellegrini then.

The full draw:

Manchester City v Chelsea

Sheffield United or Fulham v Nottingham Forest or Preston North End

Arsenal v Liverpool

Brighton & Hove Albion v Hull City

Cardiff City v Wigan Athletic

Sheffield Wednesday v Charlton Athletic

Sunderland v Southampton

Everton v Swansea City