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Bradford v Reading, today 2:45pm
There’s a certain irony to Cup underdogs Bradford City finally being given a live slot on free-to-air TV for an FA Cup game — and then being built up as favourites. The TV appeal was in their plucky status. With bookies fancying the Bantams to book a semi-final spot at Wembley, it seems a shame that Phil Parkinson’s team will now have to play under the weight of expectation. Championship side Reading haven’t won in three games and are low on confidence. They appear to be there for the taking.

As for Bradford, they put an end to a run of three games without a win against Crawley on Tuesday, winning 1-0, to keep their League One play-off hopes very much alive. Bradford have played without fear while slaying Chelsea and Sunderland on the way to the last eight. But now, with a visit to Wembley tantalisingly close and many wanting to see them entertain once more, it would be unfortunate if they felt inhibited by the huge occasion within reach. Perhaps Parkinson’s most important job when preparing his team will be getting it into his players’ heads that Reading are a league above and a scalp no matter what.

Bradford have desperately wanted their chance to shine on TV. Regardless of the opposition, it’s now up to them to live up to their Cup heroics thus far. — Gregg Bakowski.

Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion, today 7:30pm

Tony Pulis has built West Bromwich Albion into a solid defensive unit since his appointment in January but he must have been appalled with the way his team defended in their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Tuesday night.

Credit must go to Tim Sherwood for making Villa play with an attacking zest that was sorely lacking under Paul Lambert. Charles N’Zogbia flickered menacingly in midfield, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke combined well in attack and Villa could have been 4-0 up at half-time. However it would be a surprise if West Brom were guilty of making the same mistakes again at Villa Park today.

This is a side that had kept seven clean sheets in the 10 matches before that Sherwoodian tour de force and Pulis will surely have had them working hard on their defensive shape in the past few days.

Of course, West Brom’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals will be boosted if their goalkeeper, Ben Foster, manages to keep his nerve this time. Foster struggled badly on Tuesday and had already made a couple of worrying errors before he needlessly gave away the stoppage-time penalty that allowed Benteke to seal Sherwood’s first win as Villa’s manager. — Jacob Steinberg.

Liverpool v Blackburn, tomorrow 6pm

Of all the players who have been resurgent under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool since the turn of the year, Alberto Moreno has perhaps been the one who, more than any other, has been overlooked.

Steadily, and without fuss or fanfare, the little Spanish wing-back has become increasingly key to making Liverpool’s 3-4-3 formation tick. Throughout Liverpool’s busiest run of fixtures he is the one player Rodgers has refused to rest.

The last time Rodgers did so Liverpool faced Bolton Wanderers at Anfield in the FA Cup fourth round. A frustrating 0-0 draw only added to Liverpool’s fixture congestion.

Without incredibly fit players in the wing-back/wide midfield positions, the formation can falter. It is why Raheem Sterling was preferred at right wing-back against Burnley instead of the tricky but at times lightweight Lazar Markovic. Moreno could probably do with a rest but he’s unlikely to get one.

How Blackburn handle Liverpool’s formation will be key to their ability to get a result. Such pace and fluidity is not common in the Championship. If Gary Bowyer has done his homework he’ll do well to defend a little deeper and deny Liverpool’s forward players any space to run into and hope that Jason Steele does a better job at stopping long-range efforts than either Joe Hart or Tom Heaton have done in recent games. — GB.

Manchester United v Arsenal, Monday 9:45pm

We have been here before with Arsenal. The knives were out for them after their chastening defeat to Monaco in the Champions League last week and they responded well, continuing their push for a place in the top four by beating Everton and Queens Park Rangers, but their critics will be reaching for the cutlery drawer again if they follow up those fairly comfortable wins by relinquishing their hold on the FA Cup against Manchester United.

You know the drill: an absence of mental strength, defensive frailties, tactical naivety at the big grounds in the big games against the big teams. We have been here before, all right, and Arsenal’s performances at Old Trafford since their last win there in 2006 have been pretty lamentable: 10 games, nine defeats, one draw, 23 goals conceded and four scored.

Arsenal need to change that pattern on Monday and, encouragingly, their last visit to Manchester went according to Arsène Wenger’s carefully constructed plan, their 2-0 win over Manchester City in January suggesting the penny had finally dropped for this enduringly frustrating side.

Yet doubts persist. Arsenal were poor in last month’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, even worse against Monaco and they do not like playing against United. Indeed Louis van Gaal’s unconvincing side are the only visiting team that have won in the league at the Emirates Stadium this season, so Arsenal’s fans will be looking for something new: for the defence to stand up to Wayne Rooney, for Mesut Özil to make the most of his wide range of gifts and for Olivier Giroud to put his Monaco nightmare behind him and show he can rival the best strikers in England.

Giroud put Arsenal on the way to their victories over both Everton and QPR but doing it at United and against David de Gea is a different proposition. — AFP.