Man City host Liverpool in FA Cup quarter-final while Chelsea face League 1 bottom side Port Vale

The FA Cup quarter-final draw has created a mouth-watering tie as City prepare to host Liverpool in an all-Premier League blockbuster. Pep Guardiola’s side secured their spot in the final eight with a convincing 3-1 victory over Newcastle United, marking their fourth win against Eddie Howe’s men this term.

Liverpool reached this stage by avenging a recent league slip-up against Wolves, securing a 3-1 win at Molineux to set up the highly anticipated trip to the Etihad Stadium. The April clashes will determine the final four teams heading to Wembley for the semi-finals.

Elsewhere in the draw, Premier League leaders Arsenal have been handed a difficult away fixture against Championship side Southampton. The Gunners avoided a potential upset in the fifth round by defeating Mansfield Town 2-1, thanks to strikes from Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.

They now face a Saints side full of confidence after claiming a top-flight scalp by knocking out Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage, courtesy of a late Ross Stewart penalty. Meanwhile, Leeds United eased past Norwich City 3-0 and will face either West Ham or Brentford away from home.

The undisputed story of the round sees League 1 strugglers Port Vale handed a glamour tie against Chelsea. Currently sitting at the bottom of the third tier, Vale produced the shock of the fifth round by defeating Sunderland 1-0.

Ben Waine's clinical 28th-minute finish proved the difference, despite it being their only shot on target. Chelsea reached the quarter-finals after surviving a significant scare against 10-man Wrexham, eventually prevailing 4-2 after extra time. The draw was conducted by former England stars Joe Hart and Joe Cole.

While fans dream of silverware, fixture congestion is weighing heavily on some clubs. Vale manager Jon Brady offered an unusually blunt assessment following their historic win, saying: "It's a bit of a pain in the bum, to be honest!" Brady was referring to their ongoing fight against relegation.

He expanded on the difficulties, adding: "It is really because what it's doing for us is adding to our fixture list and as you saw we lost one of our best centre-halves, Cam Humphreys, and we haven't got the size of the squad to cope with the amount of games at the moment." Despite this, they will relish the Stamford Bridge test.