That’s all from me. Thanks for reading and for your emails. Congratulations to Forest for reaching the fifth round. Congratulations to Exeter for giving us one of the best FA Cup ties in recent years.
Cheers!
Ben Fisher's match report from St James Park
FA Cup fifth-round draw in full
Preston v Burnley
Aston Villa v Cardiff City
Crystal Palace v Millwall
Manchester United v Fulham
Newcastle United v Brighton
Bournemouth v Wolves
Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle
Nottingham Forest v Ipswich
Ties to be played between 28 Feb – 3 March
A pretty open draw! Forest, Newcastle, Villa (who haven’t won the FA Cup since the 1950s) and Bournemouth all have a great chance this year.
Exeter manager Gary Caldwell speaks:
Really proud of the team, the whole football club. We just came up short. I missed an FA Cup penalty myself and I know how difficult they can be. We gave Nottingham Forest the ball and they were not used to that. We got an early goal and they defended with their lives.
They brought on the big guns on – Gibbs-White, Wood – and we still hung on.
I think it shows the potential of the team. We have to show the commitment in the 17 games [left in League One].
This cup run gives us a bit of help financially but it mainly shows what a great club we are. We’re the only fan-owned club in England.
And here is a round-up of the other Champions League play-offs tonight.
Player ratings from the Etihad, if you are interested.
Exeter’s two-goal hero Josh Magennis speaks to the cameras:
These kind of nights are the ones you want to live for. There were a lot of nerves but you have to try and control them. We’re under no illusions about what a fantastic side they are. We have to use this as a springboard, we haven’t been in good form in the league.
Many neutrals (and Ipswich fans) will have been praying for an Exeter victory, but you can’t argue with the quality of those penalties. Every one from Forest was buried, and the same can’t be said for the Grecians.
But despite defeat, the night belongs to Exeter, who were absolutely magnificent in 90 minutes and extra time.
Forest did what Liverpool couldn’t, and that was get out of Dodge Devon with any season-altering damage. But Nuno will be fuming with the performance and the fact that he had to send on his big dogs to get the job done, albeit in a shootout.
Full-time: Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest (2-4 pens)
Williams scores! Forest win and will face Ipswich in the fifth round!
GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 2-3 Nottingham Forest
Yogane, on loan from Brentford, makes no mistake, belting one into the top bin. Forest can win it, though, with their next spot kick.
GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-3 Nottingham Forest
Anderson goes left, Whitworth goes right, and Nottingham Forest are one kick away from the fifth round.
MISS! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Angus MacDonald, on his Exeter debut, crashes his shot off the bar! Oh, no!
GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Gibbs-White takes his time, sits Whitworth down with a stuttered run up and gives Forest the advantage. Two-one up!
SAVED! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Sels guesses right and goes to his right to deny Exeter’s Reece Cole!
Updated
GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Chris Wood responds. Of course he does.
GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Magennis scores! He curls one in the top corner.
Updated
Here we go! Exeter’s Magennis steps up first.
The penalty shootout will be in front of the Exeter fans in The Big Bank End, the largest (standing) terrace in the Football League.
End of extra-time: Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
We are going to penalties!
ET 120 min: One minute added on. Cole miscues a clearance and Forest will have a late corner … Whitworth saves!
ET 118 min: Exeter deserve a penalty shootout. They have defended magnificently and even though they have looked panicked recently, have done more than enough to earn a chance to win it from 12 yards.
ET 117 min: Forest so close! From a corner, Whitworth is put off by his own defender, MacDonald, and drops the ball inside his own six-yard box. Watts clears but only as far as Dominguez, who takes a touch and clips a shot just a yard over the bar!
Updated
ET 115 min: Yellow card for Yogane, who prevented Forest from taking an early free-kick.
ET 113 min: Wood forces Whitworth into another good save, but the Forest striker perhaps could have done better after good work from Anderson on the left. Wood didn’t catch it cleanly and Whitworth was able to scamper across to his left.
ET 111 min: “If Paul McCartney had started Hey Jude at kick off, he’d just be getting into the last set of encores about now,” quips Andy Flintoff (not that one) via email.
ET 109 min: From a Forest corner, Wood has a free header just six yards out but Whitworth makes a point-blank save. It was straight at the young goalkeeper but still came quickly and the Crystal Palace loanee did brilliantly to dig that one out. Forest are beginning to turn the screw now.
ET 107 min: It will not surprise you to learn that Exeter no longer have two players up front. Magennis is now an extra makeshift centre-half.
Peeeeeeep!
We’re off for the second half of extra-time. ITV are reporting that Awoniyi, Forest’s striker who took a nasty blow to the head, is ‘stable’ inside the away dressing room.
Gary Caldwell barks encouragement and instructions to his Exeter players in the extra-time, half-time huddle. He must already be so proud of his side.
Hey Jude is played over the PA, and the home fans rise to sing a long. Seems a strange song choice, is that a regular thing here at St James’ Park?
Half-time in extra-time: Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Ten-man Exeter are 15 minutes away from a penalty shootout. And I think that’s what every neutral wants.
ET 105 min: A loose ball from Boly, and Williams is forced to bring Cole down to prevent a dangerous Exeter counter-attack. Really sloppy from Forest.
ET 104 min: Exeter look tired. They have run their socks off tonight. It’s up to Forest to break them down now.
ET 102 min: Nuno looks furious on the sidelines. Forest have barely troubled the Exeter goal in extra-time, despite being a man up.
Updated
ET 98 min: Exeter break at pace and nearly catch Forest cold! Yogane wins the ball strongly and releases Jones, who beats Boly for pace and wins a corner off Toffolo! The corner is a peach but Forest do well to clear. This is not the way I thought extra-time would go.
ET 96 min: Encouraging news regarding Awoniyi, who according to ITV, is conscious in the Nottingham Forest dressing room.
ET 94 min: Williams tries his luck for Forest, forcing Whitworth into a save. The Exeter goalkeeper makes his first mistake of the night, spilling the ball into a dangerous area just in front of him, but it is Magennis who, inexplicably, is first to the rebound to clear! What on earth was the striker doing there?!
ET 92 min: Magennis fancies his hat-trick! A poor defensive header falls to the veteran striker who takes one touch on his chest and volleys at goal. Sels gets down well to his right to save the dipping effort!
Updated
Peeeeeep! Extra time is underway in Devon.
Speaking of decent cup ties, you are going to want to read this.
What a cup tie this is! Forest will fancy their chances of finishing this in extra-time but before the match, they would have fancied their chances of having this wrapped up by 90 minutes. But here we are.
Exeter are living dangerously but still have a threat on the break. Forest are perhaps a little lucky that their starting keeper, Carlos Miguel, sustained an injury. The Brazilian was having a howler and looked particularly uncomfortable from set pieces. Sels has steadied the ship in that regard.
End of 90 minutes: Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
To extra-time we go!
Updated
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+21 min: Jota hits the post for Forest. An absolute hammer against Whitworth’s near post. The Exeter keeper knew nothing of it, such was the ferocity of the strike!
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+19 min: Chance for Exeter! Jones gets the better of Alex Moreno, steadies himself inside Forest’s penalty area and steers his shot just a yard wide of Sels’ post! Oooooooooh, was that Exeter’s chance to win it at the death?!
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+17 min: Here come Forest. First Jota stings the hands of Whitworth, then Anderson curls his shot high over the bar. But the onslaught is surely only just beginning.
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+15 min: Remarkable that Exeter still have two strikers up top, despite the fact that they have 10 men. The League One side will hope to hold on for extra time and penalties, surely. It’s not clear how much more time we will have as there was such a long stoppage for Awoniyi’s injury.
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+12 min: Awoniyi is eventually carried off on a stretcher, with the home Exeter fans giving the Forest striker a standing ovation. Let’s just hope that this level of medical care is precautionary, rather than something worse.
Forest have used all their substitutes but are able to make a concussion substitute due to the nature of Awoniyi’s injury. Chris Wood comes on. Not what the home fans wanted to see.
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+9 min: Awoniyi is still down. There is a strange but understandable atmosphere in the ground, with both sets of supporters concerned for the Forest striker. Some players are trying to keep warm and loose with a few balls being pinged around the pitch. On the sidelines both managers are issuing instructions to anyone that will listen.
Updated
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90+5 min: A lengthy stoppage here with Forest’s Awoniyi down with a head injury. The medical staff are taking no chances and the ambulance team are being called on. Awoniyi is still down, they are taking their time. We can only hope that the Nigerian is OK.
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
90 min: Ten minutes added on here! Still plenty of time for Forest to get this done before extra time against 10 men.
Full-time: Sporting 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Sporting haven’t won a Champions League match since Amorim left the club in early November. They looked a little rudderless but this is a huge result for Dortmund and their new manager, Niko Kovac.
Full-time: Juventus 2-1 PSV
A fair result. Juventus didn’t play their best game but the subs made the difference off the bench.
RED CARD FOR EXETER'S TURNS!
Ed Turns catches Gibbs-White late and high, and it shows a straight red. It’s perhaps a little harsh, not deliberately a terrible tackle, just very, very clumsy. Exeter suddenly face a huge uphill task, but can they get to extra time?
Updated
GOAL! Sporting 0-3 Borussia Dortmund (Adeyemi 84)
A classic counter-attack goal as Sporting press for a way back into the match. But Dortmund’s third goal might be the one that kills the tie. It’s Adeyemi that sprints away at pace, playing a clever one-two with Brandt, and the striker streaks clear of his marker to place an easy sidefoot finish past Rui Silva. What a night for the German side!
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
84 min: Exeter remains a threat and have two corners to put pressure on Forest’s goal again but both deliveries fail to hit their mark, the second corner is particularly disappointing as it fails to beat the first man. Exeter win another free-kick though and this time Sels is forced to punch. The Grecians could yet win this!
Updated
Erling Haaland has struck again for Manchester City!
GOAL! Juventus 2-1 PSV (Mbangula 81)
Conceicao scampers down the right to the byline, pulls the ball back … Benitez in PSV’s goal can only parry the cross into Mbangula path and the Belgian converts the rebound, placing his finish high into the roof of the net. More terrible goalkeeping, but Juventus won’t care!
Updated
Juventus 1-1 PSV
77 min: Juventus are becoming increasingly frustrated and have thrown on Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Vlahovic, and Thuram as they try to find another goal to take to the Netherlands. PSV have been excellent this second half will be delighted with a 1-1 draw if it finishes like this.
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
74 min: Forest make a couple of telling substitutions – Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White replace Ryan Yates and Ibrahim Sangare – with Gibbs-White instantly testing Whitworth with a low shot to the near post. Forest won’t want this to go to extra time with lots of important games to come.
Sporting 0-2 Dortmund
70 mins: Sporting seem to have realised that this tie is slipping away from them and have suddenly stepped things up. Gyökeres is now on, and the Portuguese side are pushing for a goal as coveted centre-back Diomande flashes a shot just over Kobel’s bar.
Real Madrid are level with City in Manchester. Get the latest here with Rob Smyth.
GOAL! Sporting 0-2 Borussia Dortmund (Gross 67)
A one-two punch from Dortmund, who score a near-identical goal to their first. This time Guirassy turns provider, delivering another cracking cross from that right wing. Pascal Gross, formerly of Brighton of course, ghosts in completely unmarked at the back post and knees the ball into the corner. It’s a cool, improvised finish after the ball whizzed past a couple of Sporting heads. Dortmund 2-0 up!
Updated
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
62 min: Niskanen goes close for Exeter! Could they really nick a winner?! The Finnish’s finish draws Sels into a brilliant save just a few minutes after coming on. Forest are living dangerously!
GOAL! Sporting 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (Guirassy 60)
A simple yet beautiful goal! Brandt has time and space to cross on the right wing and the German curls one to the back post. Guirassy gets up early above the Sporting defenders and plants a wonderful looping header over Rui Silva and into the far corner! Huge goal in the tie!
Updated
Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest
58 min: Forest are going to have to change their keeper with Carlos Miguel suffering an injury. The Brazilian has has a nightmare night in Devon. Completely at fault for Exeter’s first goal, he perhaps could have done better for their second too, failing to come for the cross that led to Magennis’s shot. Sels, arguably the best keeper in the Premier League this season, is on.
GOAL! Juventus 1-1 PSV (Perisic 55)
A sumptuous goal by the Croatian veteran! It’s against the run of play, but this is a goal full of quality with Perisic controlling a rebounded shot with the deftest of touches, cutting inside Kelly and firing a lazer of a left-footed shot inside Di Gregorio’s near post! Perisic has always been very two-footed and you won’t see a better example: right-foot control, left-foot finish.
The goal was checked by VAR for a PSV handball by Lang in the build-up, but eventually given. I think the Dutch side are a bit lucky to get away with that one, personally!
Updated
GOAL! Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest (Boly og 51)
Exeter are level! From a corner Magennis wins a back post header, the ball pinballs around the six-yard box, and the Northern Ireland striker somehow turns the loose ball home! It was a horribly messy strike, bobbling in off Boly’s foot I think, but Exeter won’t care. St James Park erupts!
Updated
Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest
49 min: “Oi,” emails Damian Clarke reacting to the height of Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth. “Just 5ft8in? 5ft5in goalkeeper here. Thank you very much (OK, indoor five a side veterans). But still …”
“Now that Liverpool has fallen victim to the Pilgrims’ progress, I’m rooting for the underdogs in the FA Cup,” writes Peter Oh. “Come on Exeter! By the way, I’m wondering how much League One players make. How much does a Grecian earn?”
Looks like the best paid Exeter players make around £3-4k a week. Not too shabby, but less than Morgan Gibbs-White makes in a lunchbreak. Probably.
Juventus 1-0 PSV
47 min: Mbangula has come on for Yilmaz at half-time. That’s a straight swap but I’m surprised by that. The Turkish international was fairly bright.
Peeeeeeeeep!
We are live in the Champions League matches and will be up and running again with Exeter v Forest shortly.
Half-time reading:
Half-time: Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Whitworth, who has let in two goals but otherwise been excellent for Exeter, does very well to clear away a corner from under his own crossbar through a crowded penalty area just before the half-time whistle. The keeper, on loan from Crystal Palace, stands at just 5ft8in!
Half-time: Sporting 0-0 PSV
Goalless at the break.
Half-time: Juventus 1-0 PSV
The Old Lady are well worth their lead.
Updated
Sporting 0-0 Dortmund
43 min: Meanwhile, it’s Dortmund pushing for the opener in Lisbon. Guirassy tries his luck from range, there’s a wicked deflection and Rui Silva has to palm is over. The ball was spinning under the bar! From the resulting corner, Guirassy pokes wide but replays show the Dortmund striker is well offside.
Juventus 1-0 PSV
40 min: Juventus are increasingly dominant in Turin. De Jong is cutting a lonely figure up top for PSV, who have threatened from set pieces but otherwise been a little stale.
Half-time scores in the Football League
GOAL! Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Awoniyi 37)
Awoniyi gets his goal, just his second of the season due to Wood’s form. To be fair to the Forest striker, this is an expert bit of forward play: receiving a pass with his back to goal, holding off two Exeter defenders on the edge of the area and swivelling beautifully to curl a left-footed shot right into the bottom corner. Whitworth didn’t move! That was Premier League class.
Updated
GOAL! Juventus 1-0 PSV (McKennie 33)
Gatti engineers the opening, breaking tackles and cantering up from centre-back before he crosses to Muani. The Frenchman is denied by Benitez, but after another key touch from Gatti, the rebound falls to McKennie on the edge of the area and the American hammers a volley into the roof of the net! An absolute thunderbastard, but that chance was all made by the industriousness of Gatti.
Updated
Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest
30 min: Outrageous save from Whitworth to deny Awoniyi! Wooooow, this is a world-class stop to keep Exeter level, diving to his right and tipping the Nigerian’s volley around the post! How?!
Updated
Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest
27 min: Demetri Mitchell, who created Exeter’s goal, remains a real threat down the League One club’s right flank. Toffolo is struggling to deal with the former Manchester United academy man.
There has been a goal at the Etihad.
Brest 0-3 PSG match report
Juventus 0-0 PSV
23 min: A penny for the thoughts of Lloyd Kelly. One minute you can’t get a kick for Newcastle, the next you are lining up in a Champions League knock-out tie for Juventus. Football is a funny game.
Also, can someone check on Marcus Edwards, now on loan at Burnley from Sporting. I can’t say I have watched a lot of Sporting recently but it wasn’t too long ago that he was a key part of this Portuguese team. Now the 26-year-old is in the Championship.
Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest
21 min: Forest are starting to hit their stride now with long spells of possession. Sangare and Danilo pulling the strings.
Sporting 0-0 Dortmund
18 mins: I miss Marco Reus.
Updated
Sporting 0-0 Dortmund
16 mins: Sporting hit the bar! Araujo finds some room 25 yards out and crashes a shot so hard against Dortmund’s bar that the ball rebounds well outside the penalty area. Dortmund look rattled and are lucky to still be on level terms.
Updated
GOAL! Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Sosa 14)
Sosa levels! The Paraguayan collects a chipped pass, wiggles through a couple of Exeter challenges and finds the finish past Whitworth. Forest will be delighted but that was weak defending in truth, a soft one to concede.
Updated
Juventus 0-0 PSV
10 min: Benitez dallies on the ball and is nearly caught by McKennie, who is inches from tackling the goalkeeper on his own six-yard line, but actually ends up leaving a few stud marks in the PSV keeper’s ankle. Ouch.
Exeter 1-0 Nottingham Forest
7 min: Genuinely one of the worst goalkeeping howlers of the season. This is just Carlos Miguel’s third appearance of the season. The Brazilian, signed from Corinthians last summer, will have been building himself up for tonight but the pressure seems to have got to him. That was a regulation catch.
Updated
GOAL! Exeter 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Magennis 5)
Oh my days! Exeter in dreamland! Mitchell tries a hopeful cross, Carlos Miguel should catch it easily but makes a dreadful spill and Magennis is there to poke in the rebound! Wooooow! Another Devon shock is on.
Updated
Juventus v PSV
2 min: Muani, who has been on flames since joining on loan from PSG, breaks the offside trap, draws Benitez out of the PSV goal and cuts the ball back to Yildiz but the Turkish international can’t force the ball into the empty net with Ledezma making an excellent last-ditch block.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
We are off in all three matches. I will post the half-time scores in the Football League (Championship, League One and League Two matches) in about half an hour.
The teams are out! The Champions League anthems have been played (not in Devon, unfortunately).
It’s interesting to see that Dortmund’s big-money summer signing Waldemar Anton has been left out after his own goal in the weekend defeat to Stuttgart.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo speaks!
It’s not a risk [to make 10 changes from the 7-0 win over Brighton]. It’s the same approach that we made [in the last round] against Luton. It’s a good opportunity for our players. We are exceeding expectations but we have to have the same attitude. We have to respect our opponents. Nothing is granted. I want to see goals.
It’s a risk to rest players, as Slot did at Plymouth, but the biggest difference between Forest and Liverpool is Nuno’s bench: Sels, Morato, Williams, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Dominguez, Elanga, Abbott. There are lots of senior pros, matchwinners there.
Full-time: Brest 0-3 PSG
Ousmane Dembélé scored two on a brilliant night for the Parisians. One suspects that that play-off is done if the scores stay like that, and with PSG at home for the second leg.
A hugely disappointing draw for Brest, who would at least like to have faced a foreign side in the play-off round, and a hugely disappointing performance. Ouch.
“Before this season, Ousmane Dembélé’s season best goal tally was 14,” emails Kári Tulinius. “He’s well past 20 already this season. I can’t think of many other players who’ve both been teenage wonders and late bloomers”.
Updated
A few eye-catching substitutes in the Sporting v Dortmund game. For the home side, star striker Viktor Gyokeres is only fit enough for a place on the bench, just as he was in the weekend draw at Porto.
For Dortmund, Carney Chukwuemeka could make his debut in yellow and black following his loan move from Chelsea. Dortmund are still light in defence with Niklas Sule making the bench after a long injury lay-off. The vastly underrated Nico Schlotterbeck starts, though. The German hasn’t played for a couple of weeks so a timely return for the centre-back.
“Given that Fulham play Forest on Saturday I hope Exeter are up for a scrap, with plenty of the Things No One Likes To See,” says Richard Hirst, disgracefully.
I suspect that Exeter won’t play 100% nice, and that Forest might have a bit more of the ball than they are used to in the Premier League. Although their low-possession, counter-attacking football is what has worked for them? Let’s see.
Exeter v Nottingham Forest teams
Exeter: Whitworth, Angus MacDonald, Turns, Francis, Harper, Jake Richards, Trevitt, McMillan, Mitchell, Niskanen, Magennis.
Subs: Shaun MacDonald, Purrington, Watts, Woods, Cole, Aitchison, Jones, Yogane, Bird.
Nottingham Forest: Carlos Miguel, Boly, Sangare, Toffolo, Sosa, Yates, Danilo, Alex, Jota Silva, Moreira, Awoniyi.
Subs: Sels, Morato, Williams, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Dominguez, Elanga, Abbott.
Sporting v Borussia Dortmund teams
Sporting: Rui Silva, Fresneda, St Juste, Diomande, Matheus Reis, Simoes, Debast, Quenda, Trincao, Araujo, Harder.
Subs: Israel, Callai, Morita, Gyokeres, Braganca, Inacio, Gabriel Teixeira, Ricardo Esgaio, Brito, Quaresma, Afonso Moreira, Anjos.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Ryerson, Can, Schlotterbeck, Svensson, Sabitzer, Gross, Adeyemi, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens, Guirassy.
Subs: Meyer, Laurenz Lotka, Yan Couto, Anton, Ozcan, Reyna, Beier, Duranville, Chukwuemeka, Sule.
Juventus v PSV team news
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Weah, Gatti, Veiga, Kelly, Locatelli, Douglas Luiz, Gonzalez, McKennie, Yildiz, Muani.
Subs: Perin, Pinsoglio, Francisco Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Vlahovic, Thuram, Savona, Rouhi, Mbangula.
PSV: Benitez, Ledezma, Flamingo, Obispo, Junior, Schouten, Veerman, Perisic, Saibari, Lang, de Jong.
Subs: Drommel, Schiks, Malacia, Bakayoko, Bajraktarevic, Til, Driouech, Babadi, Land, Kuhn, Uneken, Nagalo.
Updated
We’re well into the second half in the early Champions League kick-off. Brest, in many ways the stand-out team of the league phase are 2-0 down at home to PSG. Remember, there are two legs to these play-offs, so still a long way to go, but it’s still an ominous scoreline for the Brittany club.
The other play-off, remember, is Manchester City v Real Madrid, which is probably going to be absolutely rubbish and not worth paying attention to.
Here’s a handy preview for the Champions League play-offs.
Juventus v PSV
The Old Lady has a spring in her step as Juve gear up to welcome PSV to Turin. After a three-game winless run, Juventus have claimed back-to-back victories, beating Empoli and Como to get their top-four pursuit back on track. January signing Randal Kolo Muani has been a breath of fresh air, scoring five league goals in just three outings for the Italian side; only Dusan Vlahovic (eight) has netted more for Thiago Motta’s side this season.
Kolo Muani, along with fellow January arrivals Lloyd Kelly and Renato Veiga, have been added to the club’s Champions League squad, and the trio may be needed from the outset. Left-back Andrea Cambiaso, who was linked with a move to Manchester City last month, is a doubt, while fellow defenders Bremer, Juan Cabal and Pierre Kalulu all miss the meeting with Eredivisie leaders PSV.
The Dutch side have their fair share of concerns. Defenders Oscar Boscagli and Richard Ledezma are missing due to injury, with the absence of the former a huge blow. Forward pair Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi are also sidelined, though Peter Bosz can at last call upon Ivan Perisic after he joined too late to be included in their Champions League squad for the league phase. Loan signing Tyrell Malacia may also feature at left-back following Matteo Dams’ move to Saudi side Al Ahli. Prediction: Juventus to progress
Sporting v Borussia Dortmund
Sporting have struggled since Ruben Amorim’s departure. They remain top of the Primeira Liga but their 1-1 draw with Porto at the weekend means their lead has been cut to just four points. They have been inconsistent under Rui Borges, winning just two of their last five matches.
Sporting have issues in midfield. Morten Hjulmand misses the first leg meeting with Borussia Dortmund due to a ban, and João Simões was forced off at the weekend, meaning Zeno Debast should partner Hidemasa Morita in the middle of the park. Nuno Santos, Pote and Geny Catamo are also injured, but star striker Viktor Gyökeres is back.
Borussia Dortmund were beaten by Stuttgart at the weekend, continuing a poor run of form. They are 11th in the Bundesliga, having lost as many matches as they have won this season. The good news is that centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck is back after a ban. New arrival Carney Chukwuemeka will have to wait a little longer to make his debut due to injury, and he is joined by Felix Nmecha and Niklas Sule on the sidelines.
Dortmund face an uphill task in Lisbon this weekend; they have lost nine of their last 13 away matches. That said, two of their five away wins this season have come in the Champions League. Prediction: Sporting to progress
Preamble
Variety is the spice of life, and this MBM has taken that saying quite literally. Not only will we bring you live piping hot FA Cup action from Exeter v Nottingham Forest – where the Midlands club will attempt to avoid becoming the second elite Premier League club to become unstuck in Devon in the last few days – we will also bring you the latest updates from Juventus v PSV and Sporting v Borussia Dortmund – the two 8pm GMT Champions League play-off matches that aren’t covered in our dedicated Manchester City v Real Madrid liveblog.
A reminder that the FA Cup match is a straight knockout match – no VAR and no replays of course – with extra time and penalties if needed. Exeter or Forest will face Ipswich Town at home in the fifth-round, so a very winnable tie given the stage of the competition.
In the Champions League matches, this is the first of a two-leg play-off, with the winners reaching the last-16 knockout round.
Oh, and if that’s not enough, there will be a sprinkling of EFL action as well (if my hands type fast enough). There are five Championship matches tonight and plenty of League One and Two action to boot.
Exeter, Turin and Lisbon. What a treat. All three kick-offs, across the two competitions, are at 8pm GMT.
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