Arsenal's success in opening up a five-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the Premier League has upped the stakes for today's FA Cup fifth-round showdown between the clubs.
Any chance of either side resting key players ahead of next week's Champions League appointments has been removed by the additional psychological importance now attached to the outstanding tie of the last 16 -- a stage of the competition that only six top flight clubs have managed to reach.
Still smarting from Sunday's Old Trafford derby defeat at the hands of Manchester City, which allowed Arsenal to pull away from them in the league, United badly need to make immediate amends.
"It was a very bad weekend," acknowledged Rio Ferdinand. "We have all been thinking about the reasons why it happened and how we want to pull ourselves together and get the result out of our minds."
Victory at Old Trafford today would put Arsene Wenger's young squad on track to complete the third domestic double of the Frenchman's reign in north London.
"This Saturday is very important to us," said Abou Diaby, the Gunners' midfielder. "Maybe a win will give us a psychological advantage."
Holders Chelsea have been favored by a draw which has pitted them against the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, Huddersfield Town.
But Avram Grant and his men will be wary of opponents from the middle of League One who have already dumped Premier League side Birmingham out of this year's competition.
The Stamford Bridge clash is a repeat of a 2006 third round tie which Chelsea only just edged 2-1 thanks to a late goal from Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Bristol Rovers, who are two places above Huddersfield in the third tier of English soccer, look to have a better chance of extending their Cup run, which has included the elimination of Fulham, thanks to a home tie against managerless Southampton, who are still looking for a successor to new Scotland boss George Burley.
Liverpool begin a make-or-break week for their season with a home clash with Championship side Barnley, who will feature Brazilian midfielder Anderson de Silva, a former Everton player, in their ranks.
Manager Rafael Benitez will welcome back Fernando Torres, Fabio Aurelio, Sami Hyypia and Alvaro Arbeloa from injury for a clash that takes place just three days before the Champions League second round first leg against Inter Milan.
"I need to consider both games but I know it's important to progress in the FA Cup, so I will try to use a strong team," Benitez said, while implying that star striker Torres' involvement may be limited.
"For Inter, he will be okay -- we will have to check before Barnsley," he said.
Cardiff will be looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since they won the trophy in 1927 by overcoming fellow Championship outfit Wolves, previously managed by Cardiff boss Dave Jones.
"It's a good opportunity to get to the quarter finals as Wolves are in the same division as us," Jones said. "They will be thinking the same."
Another all-Championship clash today sees Coventry entertain West Brom, while Preston and Sheffield United, who got rid of manager Bryan Robson on Thursday, will be seeking upset wins over Portsmouth and Middlesbrough, respectively, tomorrow.
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
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TECH ISSUES: Before Sinner’s match against Diallo the lights went out at the courts, and during it the electronic line-calling system partly failed and an alarm sounded Jannik Sinner on Monday ignored technical issues interruptions and a blaring alarm to defeat Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) on a day of distractions at the Cincinnati Open. The top-seeded defending champion got down to business against the 35th-ranked Canadian, who was plagued by eight first-set double faults and 49 unforced errors in the match as he faced the best in the world. Sinner recovered smoothly from an early break down and had his hands full on his way into the fourth round, sending over an ace on match point after saving a set point in the tiebreaker. Play was stopped briefly with
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