English Football League / Editor / 13 February 2007 /

One of the biggest paydays in the fifth round of the FA Cup is up for grabs on Tuesday night as Norwich host Blackpool at Carrow Road for the right to take on dual Premiership champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Seasiders came very close to making it straight through to the next stage in the opening game, having the better of the encounter against their rivals from one division higher up the English football ladder, but eventually they had to settle for a come-from-behind draw.

They were in a run of three successive wins for rookie manager Simon Grayson when they faced the Canaries in the first game but have lost their only game since, and that was a shocking 3-1 home reverse against struggling Brentford that forced Grayson to issue a public apology to fans.

However the League One play-off chasers are a dangerous side, boasting three decent strikers in Andy Morrell, Scott Vernon and Keigan Parker who could all come under consideration in the first scorer market once it develops in the run-up to kick-off, although Morrell has been the man to follow in the cup so far, with three goals.

But they are vulnerable to pace as Darren Huckerby showed when scoring the Norwich goal in the opening contest - he has also netted in their 2-1 win over Leeds in the Championship since and comes into this game at the peak of his form after only scoring five goals in the previous five months.

The sides have only met three times in the last 30 years - all in cup games - and the stalemate in the first game was repeated in the League Cup in 2000 when Norwich won the away game 5-0 at Bloomfield Road after a 3-3 draw at Carrow Road.

Middlesbrough v Bristol City, Tuesday 8.00pm, live on Sky Sports

Much like the clash between Norwich and Blackpool the only meeting between these two sides in the last 20 years was the 2-2 draw in the first attempt at finding an opponent for West Brom in the last 16 of the FA Cup.

The Robins may well just be glad to have this second chance of reaching the last 16 after trailing 2-0 in the first game, but in the end they were well on top at Ashton Gate after Scott Murray had brought them back level with a stunning strike from outside the box.

However their form has taken a turn for the worse since Boro's visit, with just one point from three League One games putting a serious dent in their bid for automatic promotion and even leaving them looking over their shoulders at potential chasers for their current place in the play-offs.

Their promotion bid has been built on solid home form, with only four wins from 15 games away from Ashton Gate.

Therefore this could well be an uphill task for them and worth considering for punters interested in the 9.4 about them winning at the Riverside or the 5.2 available on them getting the result necessary to get through to the next round, be it in regulation, after extra-time or even on penalties.

They will also have to make a change in goal for this vital tie, with Chris Weale getting his chance to impress on the national stage after first choice keeper Adriano Basso was sent-off for handballing outside his area in the come-from-behind 1-1 draw with Huddersfield.

But Boro are not in any better form themselves, with no wins in their last four games in all competitions since the surprising 5-1 thrashing of high-flying Bolton - they have also not scored a goal in regulation play since the 2-2 draw at Ashton Gate, although the three Premiership games since then have been against Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth.

The losing 1997 finalists have really struggled for goals this season in all competitions, with only Mark Viduka and leading scorer Yakubu having managed more than two - that could well lead to some interest in markets that pay out on a low-scoring game as it is hard to imagine Bristol City coming out all guns blazing in this one.

Boro are currently 28 shots to go all the way in the competition and lift the trophy, with City rated among the rank outsiders at 860.

Bolton v Arsenal, Wednesday 8.05pm, live on BBC1

The biggest game of FA Cup replay week comes at the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday
when Bolton aim to continue their incredible run of form against Arsenal by progressing past them into a fifth-round home encounter with Blackburn Rovers.

Arsenal are currently 7.6 third favourites to land the competition this season with Bolton rated as much longer shots at 25 despite their home form.

These two clubs are now in their third straight season of facing each other in the FA Cup and whoever progresses will take a 2-1 lead n the head-to-heads, after Bolton took revenge for a 2004/5 sixth-round exit by beating the Gunners at this stage of the competition last season - Stelios Giannakopoulos scoring the only goal.

The Gunners have had a real problem with Bolton over the past three seasons, and Sam Allardyce's men have probably caused them as many problems as any side bar Chelsea, as they are on a run of just one defeat in eight meetings.

They had already beaten Arsenal 3-1 at the Reebok back in November - former Highbury favourite Nicolas Anelka scoring twice - before earning an FA Cup replay on their first visit to the Emirates Stadium late last month, when the Gunners only earned a second chance with yet another late comeback thanks to Kolo Toure's goal 12 minutes from time.

But Arsenal are in a rich vein of form of 10 games without defeat and they have been prolific scorers in recent weeks, making the price for a Bolton clean sheet perhaps less attractive.

Only twice in that run of 10 games have Arsenal failed to score at least two goals, with Thierry Henry, Emanuel Adebayor and the injured Robin Van Persie all in excellent form along with the improving Julio Baptista, who could be a good call in the first scorer market at slightly longer odds than his better-known team-mates.

Also, for those considering a no goalscorer, 0-0 correct score or playing in the lower reaches of the over/under markets, it is worth remembering that Arsenal have only been involved in two goalless games this season and both of those were in the Champions League.

But despite the fact that Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool (twice) were all beaten in that run of form, it will still take some performance to dethrone a Bolton side that has not tasted defeat at home since going down 1-0 to Chelsea at the end of November.

They have also bounced back from their 5-1 humiliation at the hands of Middlesbrough last month to go four games unbeaten and seem likely to give their followers a run for their money at win odds of 3.2 and to qualify odds of 2.16.

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