FA Cup quarter finals to cause fixture chaos as Arsenal and Liverpool await fate

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The FA Cup quarter-final draw is set to cause a fixture pile-up for both Southampton and Port Vale - with the two non-Premier League sides needing to find new slots for rearranged games.

The eight teams still in the tournament will play their quarter-final clashes on the weekend of April 4 - putting their scheduled league games for that weekend on hold. Top flight sides are accustomed to moving games for FA Cup outings, as is the case every year.

But clubs further down the pyramid may find in harder to source a new date. Port Vale caused the shock of the weekend by downing Sunderland thanks to a first-half goal from Ben Waine. Meanwhile in London, Southampton saw off Fulham following a stoppage time penalty.

The FA Cup quarter-final will be played on Easter Weekend - Port Vale are due to face Cardiff in the Welsh capital on April 3 - and then three days later host Rotherham at Vale Park. Southampton are also scheduled for play across the same two days, hosting Ipswich on the Friday before heading to Wrexham on the Monday.

The relentless scheduling in the EFL means that the midweek-weekend fixture list leaves little room to find a free slot. For Port Vale, they only have one free midweek between the period of the FA Cup quarter-finals and the final day of the season on May 2.

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They travel to Plymouth on April 25 before hosting Lincoln a week later - leaving that midweek as their only realistic free slot. Southampton have slightly more wiggle room as they enjoy two one week breaks between matches.

The possibility exists that that both Port Vale and Southampton could be forced to play one of their Easter Weekend matches in the days before or after their FA Cup quarter-finals. Matters of finding free slots for matches could be further complicated if Port Vale or Southampton were to cause another shock by making the semi-finals, which are scheduled for April 25.

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The eighth team for the quarter-final draw will be confirmed on Monday night when West Ham play Brentford. Arsenal , Manchester City , Liverpool and Chelsea all remain in the hunt. Leeds are the only top flight outfit still dreaming of Wembley glory.

Arsenal avoided a cup shock by seeing off Mansfield on Saturday whilst Chelsea also downed lower league opposition despite an early scare, as they beat Wrexham. City beat Newcastle at St James' Park with Leeds seeing off Norwich.

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