Quarter-final Cup draw is out

The draw has been announced and the ties are going to be interesting:

Barnsley v. Chelsea

If the Tykes play with the passion that they showed against Liverpool they have a great chance against the holders. The element of surprise is gone however and Avram Grant will not want to go down the same road as Rafa Benitez. Chelsea have a cadre of better strikers and they have something the Reds didn’t, Michael Essien. When he sets his mind to taking over a match he’s a right terror. Barnsley do have something over the Blues though, they have absolutely NOTHING to lose in this match. no-one expects them to win, they shouldn’t have gotten this far, blah, blah, blah. The fact is that if they win they will go down in history as giant killers of the highest order, but if they don’t they’ve achieved more than they could have hoped already.

Barnsley have a back line that plays with reckless abandon, giving Luke Steele extra confidence in goal. Where they lack though is in the attack. There goals against Liverpool came from the defenders. That’s not a bad thing, but is brings into question their vulnerability to counter attack by a very quick Chelsea squad.

The Blues rested some of their top players against Huddersfield and they never really needed them. Grant won’t hesitate to bring them in for this game as they are the holder’s and can’t afford to crash out to a League One side.

Bristol Rovers v. West Brom

Bristol came out quickly against Southampton and they will need to repeat the feat when the Baggies come calling. West Brom showed an ability to score at Coventry City with five goals in the score column. Rovers will need to be tight defensively or stay home for the semis. West Brom didn’t outplay the Sky Blues in any aspect but the scoreline so they too will need to be vigilant. This match could send a League One side on so it holds the underdog interest for me.

Sheffield United/Middlesbrough v. Cardiff City

Hard to pick out the impact for this until the host side is settled. I think that Cardiff would beat Sheffield United but lose to Middlesbrough. Odd I know. However, there is a difference between the Riverside and Bramall Lane as we’ll see in the replay. Boro will play better at home and move on to host the Bluebirds. For their part Cardiff City have done well in the tournament so far, they just don’t have enough to beat Boro.

Manchester United v. Portsmouth

This match will be good. Pompey have shown an ability to beat the Red Devils, therefore they will not go into Old Trafford all nervy. BUT, if United comes out like they did against Arsenal and Portsmouth repeat their performance against Preston this match could get UGLY early. Sir Alex sat out some of his big timers against the Gunners. Don’t look for him to change things up too much for Harry and the lads. United will be ready for this tie and Rooney should give them fits from the start. I’m glad that Manchester United drew a Premiership club for this round so they won’t be looking past a team that could shock them. They will be concentrating on the task at hand when Portsmouth come to town so this should be a great game.