Holders face difficult away trip in FA cup fourth round

The draw for the fourth round of the FA cup was made overnight in the UK and cup holders Arsenal face a tough trip to Premiership rivals Bolton in the fourth round of the competition.

Arsenal beat Bolton in the quarter -finals of last season competition, but does not have a good record at the Reebok Stadium. "It is ok for us," said Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger.

"We won there 1-0 last year so we have good memories. We will go there and try to do it again."

He added, "Usually a Premiership team in the FA Cup is no different to anybody else. There are a lot of ingredients around these sorts of games and that can make it more difficult sometimes when it is a lower division team."

Wolves will host the winner of the tie between Manchester United and non-league Burton Albion. Burton surprised the football world by holding United at home, and goes to Old Trafford with nothing to lose. The Brewers coach Nigel Clough has told his players to go out and enjoy it and have some fun.

The Burton centre forward Darren Stride is hoping his side will be taking the trip to Molineux.

"We'll be lucky to get there - but we'll try our hardest. If we get there it will be another great draw for us," he said.

The Old Trafford replay between Manchester United and Burton on January 18, kick-off 2005 GMT, will be screened live on UK TV (Check your guides for ESPN coverage).

A trip to Coventry awaits the winners of the Nuneaton and Middlesbrough tie, while Tamworth who earned a replay at The Lamb Ground with a hard fought 0-0 draw away against Stoke will host Barnsley or Walsall. Favourites Chelsea travel to Millwall or Everton and Fulham's conquerors Leyton Orient face Charlton at the Valley.

Orient midfielder Craig Easton said: "We are happy with Charlton. We're going away from home again but we'll approach it the same as against Fulham."

"You never know what can happen. We'll give it our best shot."

Port Vale has been rewarded for their 2-1 home victory against Doncaster Rovers with a Midlands derby at Aston Villa and the cash-strapped League one side is delighted. Chairman Bill Bratt said: "Our debt (about £1m) is well-managed and the club is on a sound financial footing. But we didn't budget for such a draw and I think we can probably expect to make around £250,000 from the game.

"We might make even more if we go there and get a replay which is then televised. But I'm not thinking about a replay - we'll be going there to win."

Leicester City, who came from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham, were rewarded with a home tie against their Championship rivals Southampton. The Foxes coach Craig Levein said: "I believe that when you draw a side from your own division in a cup competition they are the hardest ties you can get. It is not a glamour tie and it is not a minnow you are playing against."

"The pleasing thing is we are at home. It will be a difficult match but I think that we have got a reasonable chance of getting through."

"You get who you get and we now have to work out how to get through to the next round."

And in two all-Premiership ties, Portsmouth will host Liverpool at Fratton Park, who came from 3-1 down to overcome Luton, and West Ham will face Blackburn Rovers at Upton Park. The exciting action from the third round brought in big TV audiences in the UK.

Viewing figures for this year have increased by 26% on the equivalent televised fixtures last season. The peak audience of 8.4m for the Luton v Liverpool match was only bettered last season by the final between Manchester United and Arsenal.

Full draw:
Stoke City/Tamworth v Barnsley/Walsall
Cheltenham Town/Chester City v Newcastle United
Coventry v Nuneaton Borough/Middlesbrough
West Brom/Reading v Torquay/Birmingham
Portsmouth v Liverpool
Leicester v Southampton
Bolton v Arsenal
Aston Villa v Port Vale
Brentford v Sunderland
Manchester City v Wigan/Leeds
Millwall/Everton v Chelsea
Preston v Crystal Palace
West Ham v Blackburn
Colchester v Derby
Charlton v Leyton Orient
Wolves v Burton/Manchester United

Ties to be played on the weekend of the 28/29 January.

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