The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round fixtures were played over the weekend, as the Premier League sides that played on Sunday, February 15 and Monday, February 16 avoided elimination from the competition.
After Macclesfield upset FA Cup holders Crystal Palace in the Third Round of the competition, there was room for more giant-killings as 10 EFL sides faced Premier League opposition in the Fourth Round of the competition.
With Premier League teams still going strong in the oldest-ever cup competition, let’s see how these sides got on in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round.
Birmingham City 1-1 Leeds United (Leeds United Win 4-2 On Penalties): The Whites Avoid FA Cup Disappointment With A Shootout Win
Another Premier League vs Championship tie saw the second-tier newboys, Birmingham City, welcome Premier League newboys, Leeds United, to St. Andrews.
After dumping Derby County out of the FA Cup in the last round of the competition, also in a lunchtime kick-off, Daniel Farke’s side looked to inflict the same fate on the Blues.
However, Leeds had to bide their time and finally got the breakthrough in the second half through Lukas Nmecha.
The hosts were certainly not out of the tie and had the better of the chances in the first half, but they were just unable to put them away.
Birmingham hung on and didn’t let Leeds run away with the game as Patrick Roberts scored the equaliser in the 89th minute to take the game to extra time.
The extra 30 minutes were unable to settle the tie, as a penalty shootout followed, which Leeds won 4-2 and progressed into the next round, following misses from Tommy Doyle and goalscorer Roberts for Birmingham.
Grimsby Town 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Wolves Avoid Cup Upset And Navigate Narrow Win
League Two side Grimsby welcomed Rob Edwards’ Premier League-struggling Wolves to Blundell Park in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round.
After smashing the Mariners’ fellow fourth-tier side, Shrewsbury Town, 6-1 in the previous round, the Premier League side looked to inflict the same fate on Grimsby.
However, David Artell’s resolute Mariners held on and kept Wolves at arm’s length, as the first half ended goalless and the Premier League side failed to register a shot on target.
On the hour mark, defender Santiago Bueno opened the scoring as the visitors held on for a slim but effective win.
A 1-0 win may not look like much, especially for a Premier League team against a fourth-tier opponent, but it was important for Edwards’ side to keep a clean sheet and progress into the next round regardless of the scoreline.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Noni Madueke’s Form Driving Arsenal’s Attack Forward
Oxford United 0-1 Sunderland: The Black Cats Down Championship’s Relegation Battlers
Championship strugglers Oxford welcomed Sunderland to the Kassam Stadium as they looked to turn their attentions away temporarily from their poor form in the second tier.
Reaching the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round for the first time since the COVID season in 2019/20, the U’s really needed a win from this one to give them some confidence heading into the final few months of the season.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bree named a strong line-up as the French coach didn’t want to underestimate his opponents and avoid a banana skin.
Just after the half-hour mark, Habib Diarra put the Black Cats 1-0 up from the spot, a lead which they held onto until the end of the match.
Similar to Wolves, who faced Grimsby Town, it is less about the scoreline but about the simple objective of progressing into the next round.
Sunderland did exactly that, kept a clean sheet and progressed into the Fifth Round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Stoke City 1-2 Fulham: Cottagers Come From Behind To Book Place In Fifth Round
Yet another Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round tie featured a Premier League outfit facing a Championship side as Stoke took on Fulham at the Bet365 Stadium.
The hosts managed to hit the front after 20 minutes as Jun-Ho Bae netted the opener and gave the Potters the lead against the run of play.
Marco Silva’s men didn’t give up, however, and 10 minutes into the second half, Kevin equalised the tie at one apiece.
Six minutes from the end, Harrison Reed scored for Fulham to put them 2-1 up in the game and to progress them through to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.
After being a goal down, it was important for the Cottagers to equalise early, which they did, and ultimately force a late winner to avoid a giant-killing.
Arsenal 4-0 Wigan Athletic: League One Strugglers Smashed As Gunners Make Light Work Of The Latics
In another Premier League vs League One clash, Premier League leaders Arsenal welcomed Wigan to the Emirates Stadium in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round.
It didn’t take long for the record FA Cup holders to put the Latics to the sword, as two assists from Eberechi Eze provided Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli with goals.
Before the clock struck 30 minutes, Wigan were 4-0 down, with a Jack Hunt own goal and a strike from Gabriel Jesus rounding out a dismal first-half display for the League One side.
Luckily for the Latics, the Gunners took their foot off the gas in the second half and didn’t put any more goals into the back of their net.
For Arsenal, it was a routine win, another clean sheet and another step in their quest for the quadruple this season.
Macclesfield 0-1 Brentford: Own Goal Saves Brentford’s Skin And Puts An End To Macclesfield’s Fairytale Run
After dumping out FA Cup holders Crystal Palace in Round Three, the final tie of the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round saw sixth-tier Macclesfield welcome yet another Premier League side.
European football chasing Brentford travelled to Moss Rose as Keith Andrews’ men looked to do what the Eagles couldn’t in the previous round.
With that being said, the Premier League side was being matched rather evenly by the National League North side as the deadlock was not broken in the first half.
Even with a higher possession percentage, Brentford failed to really trouble the Macclesfield defence, as the Silkmen hung on and kept the scoreline at 0-0.
However, the hosts were masters of their own downfall as a cross into the box saw Sam Heathcote’s alarm bells ringing as the defender headed the ball into the back of his own net.
That is how the scoreline remained as the fairytale FA Cup run for sixth-tier Macclesfield ended at the Fourth Round stage.
FA Cup Fifth Round Draw: Huge Ties As We Get To The Business End Of The FA Cup
Ahead of the Macclesfield vs Brentford clash on Monday night, the FA Cup Fifth Round draw was done and here’s how that draw concluded:
Fulham vs Southampton
Port Vale or Bristol City vs Sunderland
Newcastle United vs Manchester City
Leeds United vs Norwich City
Mansfield Town vs Arsenal
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool
Wrexham vs Chelsea
West Ham United vs Brentford
As a reward for beating a Premier League side away from home, Mansfield Town host the Premier League leaders Arsenal at the One Call Stadium.
Manchester City travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle in an all-Premier League tie, as on-form Championship side Wrexham welcome Chelsea to the Racecourse Ground.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO/Focus Images
Recording Date: 16.02.2026
