Premier League rivals Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool will all be looking to secure themselves some extra funds after the FA Cup returned to action this weekend for the fourth round of the competition.
The Blues will have to go through the daunting task of travelling to Villa Park for a replay in nine days time after their 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge saw them unable to take their chances to put away Unai Emery’s side. It was a staunch reminder of the first leg of the Carabao Cup tie against Middlesbrough, but supporters will be hoping to see their cup run continue.
After the clash, he admitted that he thought his side were still missing a key piece of their puzzle up front but claimed that they showed they have what it takes to score. He said: “Yes, but for both sides, no? They have amazing players in attack, different players, and they didn’t score and we kept a clean sheet.
“These types of games are even and of course when you face a team like Aston Villa, it is always difficult. Of course, we didn’t score but we created chances. I trust and believe in my players, for sure, playing this way, we are going to score. We came from Tuesday where we scored six. I think the keeper is an amazing keeper, Emiliano, he was really, really good. Yes, sometimes you need some luck to score.”
Elsewhere, Jurgen Klopp will be hoping his announcement that he’ll be leaving Anfield at the end of this season earlier this week won’t have put a dampener on his squad as they host Norwich City while Manchester United will be hoping to avoid a giant killing as they travel to League Two opposition Newport County this afternoon.
If all three sides manage to make it through to the fifth round, they’ll manage to secure themselves a cool £120,000 but that’ll pale in comparison to the amount they will receive for winning the competition. If any of the trio manage to make it to the final and win, they’ll net a big £3.8m to add to their transfer funds for the summer.
Even if they fail to make it that far, there’ll still be bonuses for losing in either the semi-final or the final, with the losers in the semi-final netting £500,000 and falling at the final hurdle will grant teams £1m. For the lower league clubs still in the competition, including sixth-tier Maidstone United after they beat Championship promotion-hunting Ipswich Town on Saturday, the money will no doubt go a long way in helping secure their futures.
Remaining prize money to be won per round:
Fourth round proper winners – £120,000
Fifth round proper winners – £225,000
Quarter-final winners – £450,000
Semi-final winners – £1,000,000
Semi-final losers – £500,000
Final runners-up – £1,000,000
Final winners – £2,000,000
