Two heavyweight derbies highlight the weekend's English FA Cup fifth-round matches as holders Arsenal face Chelsea and champions Manchester United meet neighbors City.
The tie of the round pits holders and premier league leaders Arsenal against third-placed Chelsea tomorrow, the fourth straight year the London sides have met in the world's oldest knockout competition.
Arsenal have won each time, a 3-1 victory in last season's quarterfinal replay at Stamford Bridge keeping them on course for a second consecutive triumph at Cardiff's Millennium stadium.
No team have won the Cup three times in a row since Blackburn Rovers in 1886 but, unbeaten in 25 premier league matches this season, the Gunners will be a mighty tough nut to crack at their Highbury fortress.
Chelsea have a good recent record in the competition, reaching the final four times in the past 10 years and winning it in 1997 and 2000.
But they have repeatedly failed to overcome Arsenal and Manchester United, the two sides who have dominated English football since the premier league was formed in 1992.
United ended Chelsea's hopes four times in six seasons between 1994 and 1999 before Arsenal assumed the role of their chief tormentors three years ago.
The Manchester derby, which kicks off the Cup weekend today, pits United manager Alex Ferguson against his City counterpart Kevin Keegan.
The pair enjoyed a keen rivalry when Keegan was in charge of Newcastle in the mid-1990s and the former England manager also led Fulham to Old Trafford for an FA Cup fifth-round match in 1999 that United edged 1-0 on the way to their historic treble.
The last time the teams met in the Cup was at Old Trafford in 1996, a controversial Eric Cantona penalty and a Lee Sharpe goal giving United a 2-1 victory on the way to lifting the trophy once again.
City will take heart from their extraordinary comeback victory over Spurs in the last round as they seek to win the competition for the first time since 1969.
Trailing 3-0 at halftime at White Hart Lane and reduced to 10 men, Jon Macken's last-minute header sealed a 4-3 win.
City will also draw encouragement the fact that Ferguson's men have failed to reach the quarterfinals since winning the competition for a record 10th time in 1999.
They missed the 1999-2000 tournament to play in FIFA's World Club Championship and have lost in the early rounds to West Ham, Middlesbrough and Arsenal in the last three seasons.
They did, however, beat City 3-1 in the league last December and will be desperate to put Wednesday's embarrassing home league defeat by Middlesbrough behind them.
Liverpool should be confident of beating premier league strugglers Portsmouth, whose main preoccupation until the end of the season will be avoiding relegation.
The last time the teams met in the competition was in 1992 when Portsmouth were in the second division, Liverpool edging a semifinal replay on penalties.
Fulham play West Ham today in another London derby, a repeat of the 1975 Cup final.
Fulham have sustained their bright start to lie eighth, while West Ham's steady improvement under manager Alan Pardew has lifted them to fifth in the first division.
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