Manchester United and Arsenal top list of Goliaths facing Cup Davids

By Brian Sears

28 January 2011

It was in January last year that Liverpool became the 100th Premier League club to lose in the FA Cup to a team from a lower division, in their case to Reading. That made them the most ‘slain’ giants of the Premier League era, having lost seven times in the Cup to lower division teams since 1993. A full up-to-date list of the most slain clubs, and the slayers, is below, while a year-by-year summary of the giant killings is elsewhere today.

In the fourth round of the Cup, which takes centre stage this weekend, five Premier League ‘giants’ will definitely be eliminated because there are five all-Premier League ties: Everton-Chelsea, Aston Villa-Blackburn, Bolton-Wigan, Wolves-Stoke and Fulham-Tottenham.

That leaves five possibilities of giant-killings, to add to the four the tournament has already had this season. Three of the ‘giants’ are at home – Birmingham (to Coventry), Arsenal (to Huddersfield ) and West Ham (to Nottingham Forest ).

Both the Manchester clubs face away challenges. United, having been humbled as a Premier League club in the Cup for the first time last season (against Leeds), go to Southampton. City go to Notts County.

West Ham have already been “slain” five times, Man City four times and Arsenal three, with United and Tottenham once each.

On the other hand Notts County have already been cast as “David” twice in the last 12 months, winning at Wigan last February and at Sunderland three weeks ago.