Fleetwood Town’s reward for knocking Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup is a place in the quarter-finals and a trip to face either Everton or Newcastle United at Highbury. For the League Two club, already the lowest-ranked team still in the competition, the draw offers another chance to test themselves against top-flight opposition.
Fleetwood made history by reaching the last eight after stunning Premier League champions Arsenal in a penalty shootout on Tuesday. Their next opponent will not be known until Thursday, when Everton host Newcastle United at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the final match of the fourth round. The winner will meet Fleetwood in the quarter-finals.
The draw also sets up a meeting between holders Manchester City and Bradford City, the only other team outside the Premier League to reach this stage. City will host Bradford at Etihad Stadium after needing penalties to get past Brighton in the fourth round. That pairing means two of the quarter-final ties will feature a lower-league side facing a Premier League opponent.
The other fixtures are entirely between Premier League clubs. Liverpool, who also advanced after a penalty shootout, will host Bournemouth. Crystal Palace will take on Sunderland at Selhurst Park. The quarter-final matches are scheduled for the week commencing 14 December.
For Fleetwood, reaching the last eight is already a landmark, but the draw keeps the prospect of another memorable cup night alive. The club must wait to learn whether Everton or Newcastle will stand between them and a place in the semi-finals. Both possibilities bring a meeting with established top-flight opposition, while Fleetwood’s progress has put the League Two side among the season’s most striking stories in the competition.
Their run is part of a quarter-final round shaped by penalty shootouts: Fleetwood, Manchester City and Liverpool all needed them to get through the previous stage. Bradford’s trip to City gives another lower-league team a shot at the holders, while the all-Premier League ties offer no such underdog matchup. With the fixtures set for December, Fleetwood’s next challenge will be to carry the confidence from their Arsenal victory into another demanding cup test.