FA Cup fourth round draw in full: Manchester United face Ruud van Nistelrooy reunion as Plymouth get Liverpool

Evening Standard

·12 January 2025

FA Cup fourth round draw in full: Manchester United face Ruud van Nistelrooy reunion as Plymouth get Liverpool

Brighton vs Chelsea and Aston Villa vs Tottenham among the other standout all-Premier League ties

Holders Manchester United will face a swift reunion with Ruud van Nistelrooy in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

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The legendary Red Devils striker was recently in caretaker charge at Old Trafford following the departure of Erik ten Hag having initially returned to the club as an assistant coach over the summer, performing well but exiting upon the appointment of Ruben Amorim as the new full-time manager.

Now Van Nistelrooy - whose last game of his interim tenure was a 3-0 win over the Foxes in the Premier League - faces a quick return to United as head coach of top-flight strugglers Leicester, who ended a run of five consecutive defeats with a 6-2 thrashing of Championship side QPR in the third round on Saturday.

United advanced themselves on Sunday courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Arsenal in a thrilling tie at the Emirates Stadium in which Joshua Zirkzee successfully dispatched the winning spot-kick following Altay Bayindir’s crucial save from Kai Havertz.

Amorim’s side had led 1-0 after half-time in north London through captain Bruno Fernandes, but saw Diogo Dalot sent off before Gabriel’s equaliser as the two sides could then not be separated through extra time with back-up goalkeeper Bayindir making multiple strong saves to keep the 10 men alive in the tie.

Championship bottom club Plymouth’s reward for winning away at Premier League Brentford in the upset of the third round is a home tie with top-flight leaders Liverpool, who brushed aside fourth-tier Accrington Stanley at Anfield.

Chelsea will go to Premier League rivals Brighton after thrashing League Two relegation battlers Morecambe 5-0 at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham head to Aston Villa in another all-top-flight showdown after narrowly escaping an almighty upset at non-league Tamworth before prevailing 3-0 after extra time on Sunday.

Crystal Palace are on the road at League Two Doncaster after edging past Stockport thanks to Eberechi Eze’s early goal, with Donny having upset Championship outfit Hull on penalties. David Moyes’ Everton, meanwhile, meet Bournemouth in another all-Premier League contest.

Newcastle travel to Birmingham after fighting back to defeat Bromley, while Manchester City will be away at either Derby or Leyton Orient after hitting eight past Salford.

Derby vs Leyton Orient - along with Mansfield vs Wigan and Charlton vs Preston - is one of three third round ties to be moved to Tuesday night due to frozen pitches over the weekend following the recent cold snap.