By Matt Lond & J Bateman
January 24 2003

All the FA Cup 4th round ties involving First Division teams , plus the two Nationwide League games.

Nationwide League Division One

Grimsby v Bradford at Blundell Park ko - 15-00

Grimsby are sweating on key midfielders being hopefully fit for tommorow , Stacy Coldicott (Achilles), Alan Pouton (knee) and George Santos are very much doubtful ,and Terry Cooke is still suffering from concusion and he might also be out , Grimsby will be hoping to get some daylight in the relegation dogfight by getting three pionts.

Bradford's mini revival is giving them slight hope of getting away at the bottom , Lewis Emanuel is out and Nicky Laws is waiting on the fitness off Danny Cadamarteri and goalkeeper Gary Walsh.

One To Watch Michael Boulding - Grimsby

Prediction Grimsby 2 Bradford 0 

Preston v Nottm Forest at Deepdale ko - 15-00

New signing  George Koumantarakis will get an immediate debut and Craig Brown gets five players back after suspension Graham Alexander, Chris Lucketti, Dickson Etuhu, Paul McKenna and Mark Rankine are all back in contention .

Forest welcome back attacking duo David Johnson and Jack Lester , Chris Doig will take over from Des Walker who is out for eight weeks , also back is Mathieu Louis-Jean , Forest are hoping to turn around there poor performances away from the City Ground .

One To Watch David Johnson

Prediction Preston 0 Nottm Forest 0

 

FA Cup 4th Round

Brentford v Burnley At Griffin Park ko - 15-00

Brentford are missing key players for there winnable fourth round tie with Burnley ,  Martin Rowlands will miss the tie and will be out for a month with a leg injury , Jamie Fullarton and Stephen Evans are still suspended , better news for the Bees Ibrahima Sonko will return to action after a knee injury.

Burnley will be missing Paul Weller , Brad Maylett and Steve Davis but will welcome the possible return of Glenn Little to the fold , Little has been suffering a back injury but has trained well this week and might make a bench apperance.

One To Watch Steve Evans - Brentford

Prediction Brentford 1 Burnley 1

Gillingham v Leeds at Preistfeild Stadium ko - 12-30 (SKY LIVE)

The Gills key defender Nayron Noseworthy is definately out of this massive cup tie after  sustaining a groin injury in the win over Leicester , Rod Wallace is back after impressing and scoring ain a friendly game in La Manga.

Leeds boss Terry Venables is sticking with the same side that drew against West Brom last weekend , Johnathan Woodgate will continue in defence after being linked with a move to Newcastle , there will be changes in reserves as Danny Mills returns he will take his place on the bench along with Seth Johnson.

One To Watch Alan Smith - Leeds

Prediction Gillingham 1 Leeds 2

Norwich v Dagenham & Redbridge at Carrow Road ko - 15-00

Norwich City have top scorer Paul McVeigh back for the visit of Dagenham & Redbridge at Carrow Road in the fourth round. He was forced to miss the defeat at Watford last Sunday with a hamstring problem, but has been back in training this week.Gary Holt has returned to the club after being granted compassionate leave to Scotland because of the death of a relative.

Dagenham & Redbridge manager Garry Hill reports a clean bill of health ahead of the FA Cup trip and his team are full of confidence travelling up to Norwich as they beat Plymouth in the third round.

One To Watch Iwan Roberts - Norwich

Prediction Norwich 4 Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Rochdale v Coventry at Spotland ko - 15-00

Rochdale player-manager Paul Simpson is close to having a full-strength squad to choose from for his side's FA Cup clash with Coventry at Spotland. Midfielder Chris Beech returned to first-team training this week but will not be ready in time to play any part in the game. Manager Simpson is likely to stick with an attacking formation despite two successive league defeats, with Paul Connor partnering Lee McEvilly up front.

Coventry City manager Gary McAllister may bring Moroccan star Youssef Chippo back into the side at Rochdale after Chippo has had six weeks out with broken ribs, but Youssef Safri is out of action as he recovers from a hernia operation. Julian Joachim is also unavailable as he will not be ready for a return to full training for another few weeks.

One To Watch Gary Mcallister - Coventry

Prediction Rochdale 0 Coventry 1

Sheff Utd v Ipswich at Bramall Lane ko - 15-00

Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock will be forced to make changes for his side's FA Cup game at home to Ipswich after the Worthington Cup semi final defeat by Liverpool. Michael Tonge is suspended and Nick Montgomery is out for six weeks after chipping a bone in his ankle on Tuesday night. Defender Shaun Murphy is rated doubtful after breaking his nose at Anfield. Loan signing Tommy Mooney is could make his first start for the club and there will be recalls for strikers Steve Kabba and Paul Peschisolido as Dean Windass is cup-tied.

Ipswich Town boss Joe Royle may welcome back striker Alun Armstrong after he finally overcome a series of knee and back problems and has been working to boost his stamina. Defender John McGreal has an outside chance of returning to the squad after a knee problem, but is not expected to feature in the game at Bramall Lane.

One To Watch Steve Kabba - Sheff Utd

Prediction Sheff Utd 1 Ipswich 1

Southampton v Millwall at St Mary's Stadium ko - 15-00

Southampton have injury problems including England left-back Wayne Bridge, who is out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. Rory Delap is expected to replace him. Fellow defender Claus Lundekvam has a damaged rib, with Paul Williams taking over from Lundekvam in the centre of defence. Leading scorer James Beattie is struggling to overcome a groin strain and will have a late fitness test but Jason Dodd is added to the squad after recovering from a calf muscle strain.

Millwall manager Mark McGhee has to throw in the youngsters at Southampton due to injures to key players. Rising stars Paul Robinson, Charley Hearn, Kevin Braniff and Peter Sweeney will all be in the squad as they look to inflict a second home defeat in a row on Southampton. The key platers out for Millwall are veteran skipper Stuart Nethercott (groin injury) and also missing are striker Neil Harris with a twisted ankle, Joe Dolan (knee) and Mark Phillips (hamstring).

One To Watch Jo Tessem - Southampton

Prediction Southampton 3 Millwall 1

Walsall v Wimbledon at Bescot Staduim ko - 15-00

Walsall will be without skipper Martin O'Connor for the FA Cup fourth-round tie after the club failed to overturn a yellow card O'Connor received against Wolves, so he will now have to serve a one-match suspension after reaching five bookings this season. On-loan Neil Emblen will not play after Norwich refused him permission to play, while Junior could be missing as he may have to go to Brazil in order to gain international clearance to remain at the Bescot Stadium for the rest of the season.

Wimbledon's David Connolly is battling to be fit after returning to training after a hamstring injury but Dons boss Stuart Murdoch welcomes back Gareth Ainsworth and Trond Andersen, who are available after suspension. Joel McAnuff is doubtful with a groin injury, but Mikele Leigertwood and Nigel Reo-Coker also should return.

One To Watch Neil Shipperly - Wimbledon

Prediction Walsall 1 Wimbledon 1 

Watford v West Brom at Vicarage Road ko - 15-00

Watford manager Ray Lewington will resist the temptation to throw Sean Dyche back into his side to face West Brom in the FA Cup. The defender played his made a return to football after seven weeks out due to a broken toe and Achilles injury but Lewington is concerned about his fitness.

West Bromwich Albion will have striker Jason Roberts back at Watford after he missed the draw away to Leeds as he served a one-match ban for five bookings. He is likely to replace Scott Dobie and manager Gary Megson will be forced into a change in defence with wing-back Igor Balis out for two to four weeks as he suffered medial ligament damage to his knee.

One To Watch Allan Neilsen - Watford

Prediction Watford 1 WBA 0

Wolves v Leicester at Molineux ko - 15-00

Manager Dave Jones still has Nathan Blake and Dean Sturridge ruled out through injury so it is expected that George Ndah and Kenny Miller will lead the Wolves attack after Ndah came through a training session on Friday after having his hamstring injury treated on all week. One player ruled out is Kevin Cooper, who took a kick on the ankle in training on Thursday.

Leicester City manager Micky Adams has striker problems for the game at Molineux.Trevor Benjamin, Brian Deane and James Scowcroft all miss out through injury, while Gerry Taggart is unavailable through suspension although he may have been ruled out anyway because of the groin injury he picked up in the reserves in midweek.Young striker Tommy Wright, who didn't play in midweek for the reserves after complaining of illness, may be thrown into the fray after scoring in the defeat at Gillingham last week.

One To Watch George Ndah   - Wolves

Prediction Wolves 1 Leicester 0

Full Match Previews can be found at --

Burnley The Longsider

Grimsby The Mariner

Ipswich Singing The Blues

Sheff Utd bladesfc.co.uk

Walsall The Saddlers FC

Wolves wolvesfc.co.uk