Can Championship's awesome foursome upset the FA Cup applecart?

Central to the romantic narrative surrounding the FA Cup is its reputation as a competition rife with giant-killings and underdogs triumphing against the odds. 

In recent years, however, a select group of Premier League teams have exerted an iron grip over the trophy and West Ham were the last team from outside the top flight to win it in 1980.

Five teams from the Premier League fell at the first hurdle this season, with the Hammers, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Burnley losing their third-round ties.  

The draw has continued to open up for teams outside of the top tier, with five all-Premier League ties in the fourth round, meaning the maximum number of top flight teams still standing in the next phase will be ten.

This season has been dominated by injury crises at many of the top clubs and with European commitments ramping up in the new year, the FA Cup’s slide down the list of priorities for the biggest teams could bring about a shock.

Looking to take advantage of that will be the four clubs who have dominated this season’s Championship and will be hoping to replicate West Ham’s effort from 44 years ago.

Leicester, Leeds and Southampton have all landed fourth-round ties against fellow second-tier teams, while Ipswich have been drawn against the lowest-ranked club left in the competition, Maidstone United of the National League South.

Three of those teams were in the Premier League last season and the Foxes won the FA Cup in 2020-21, so the top four of the second tier can resemble an extension of the top flight. 

Enzo Maresca’s side are the skinniest price of any of the Championship clubs, and the general 50-1 for them to lift the trophy for the second time in four seasons is shorter than the prices of three Premier League teams - Nottingham Forest, Luton and Sheffield United.

If Leicester, who are seven points clear in the second tier, can get automatic promotion sewn up sooner rather than later, it may offer them an opportunity to throw their weight behind a cup run.

Matters are more complex for the other three, who will have one eye on the fact that the Championship play-off final is due to be played a day after the FA Cup final.

However thanks to a beneficial draw and with the Premier League big guns and their busy treatment rooms likely to prioritise other tournaments, this represents the best opportunity for some time for an underdog to win the oldest national football competition in the world.

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