FA Cup: Are there replays in the fifth round?

Tonight, the fifth round of the FA Cup continues with exciting matches as teams compete to secure their spot in the quarter-finals.

Defending champions Manchester City will face Luton on the road, while Bournemouth will host Leicester, and Blackburn will try to cause an upset as they welcome Newcastle to Ewood Park.

The action continues tomorrow night with four more matches. Chelsea, aiming to recover from their loss in the Carabao Cup final, will host Leeds. Manchester United will travel to play against Nottingham Forest, and Wolves will take on Brighton. The midweek fixtures will conclude with Liverpool playing Southampton at home.

The eight teams advancing to the FA Cup quarter-finals will be determined tomorrow night. If needed, matches will go into extra time and penalties, as replays are not part of the fifth round anymore. The decision to remove replays from this stage was made in the 2018/19 season to help manage the busy schedule of matches.

Replays were not used in the 2020/21 competition due to the challenges posed by the pandemic, but they returned for the earlier rounds last season. There have been discussions about scrapping replays entirely in the future, especially with the increased demands on the football calendar because of European competitions.

While a specific timeline for these changes hasn’t been decided yet, there are talks about implementing them possibly before the 2025/26 season, coinciding with a new TV contract. This change could also affect the Carabao Cup, potentially doing away with two-legged semi-finals.