Reeling from an agonising EFL Cup semi-final exit, Fulham will endeavour to earn a slice of knockout redemption today, when Newcastle United arrive at Craven Cottage for their FA Cup fourth-round affair.
The Cottagers required just the one goal to edge past Rotherham United in the third round, whereas Eddie Howe’s troops put three past Tyne-Wear rivals Sunderland without reply.
Despite blowing a one-goal lead to comeback kings Liverpool in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, the writing was not on the wall for Fulham ahead of Wednesday’s second leg, but Luis Diaz’s deflected strike made the Cottagers’ uphill climb that little bit steeper as Harry Wilson set up of Issa Diop for the hosts’ equaliser on the night was not enough.
Another 15 minutes was not enough for Marco Silva’s team to force an additional 30, though, as they missed out on an all-West London final with Chelsea next month, but the Cottagers – still without a major trophy in their 145-year history – remain in contention for FA Cup stardom.
A strong XI made hard work of their third-round tie with a defence-heavy Rotherham crop, although Bobby Decordova-Reid’s first-half strike sufficed as Fulham reached the fourth round for the fifth year running, but they have only progressed from one of their past four ties at this stage.
That triumph did come in the 2022-23 campaign, where they were eliminated in a fiery quarter-final with Manchester United after a fourth-round beating of Sunderland, who coincidentally fell to the supremacy of Saturday’s visitors to Craven Cottage in this season’s third phase.
Even though Newcastle possess European aspirations while their Tyne-Wear rivals Sunderland compete in the Championship doldrums, animosity remains highly prevalent between the two North-East adversaries, who renewed acquaintances at the Stadium of Light on January 6.
Magpies head coach Howe had overseen four successive losses in all tournaments ahead of the third-round affair, but thanks to a brace from Alexander Isak and an opening own goal from Daniel Ballard, Newcastle earned the bragging rights and a spot in round four without breaking too much of a sweat.
The visitors were on the verge of following up that derby delight with a statement victory over Manchester City, only to fall victim to a mesmerising Kevin De Bruyne cameo in a 3-2 Premier League loss, leaving them in the obscurity of 10th place in the top-flight table.
However, sending Sunderland packing meant that Newcastle snapped a miserable sequence of three successive third-round exits, but they have only advanced past round four once in the last 18 years, ironically bowing to Man City’s superiority in a 2-0 defeat in the 2019-20 quarter-finals.
