fa cup draw: Mansfield to host Arsenal as Wrexham land Chelsea in fifth round
The fifth-round draw for the FA Cup has delivered a mix of glamour ties and genuine cup curiosities for the weekend of March 7-8, 2026 (ET). League One Mansfield Town will host Arsenal, Championship side Wrexham will welcome Chelsea, and Premier League heavyweights Manchester City and Newcastle will renew domestic rivalry. One fourth-round fixture has been postponed and will decide Sunderland's opponent the following week.
Shock, scenes and the Mansfield story
Mansfield Town’s reward for a dramatic fourth-round comeback is a home tie against 14-time winners Arsenal. The Stags produced a notable upset by fighting back to beat a Premier League opponent 2-1 at Turf Moor, reaching the fifth round for the first time since 1975. The prospect of a lower-league side hosting one of English football’s most decorated clubs is the kind of narrative that fuels the competition’s romance and promises a lively occasion at Mansfield’s ground.
Other ties pair top-flight sides in mouthwatering fixtures. Manchester City will travel to Newcastle United, recreating a recent League Cup semi-final meeting between the clubs, while Wolverhampton Wanderers have been drawn against Liverpool. Leeds United will host Norwich City, and Fulham face Southampton in a Championship-Premier League cross-border clash.
Wrexham, Hollywood reaction and the Chelsea trip
One headline-grabbing draw sees Championship promotion chasers Wrexham handed Chelsea at the Racecourse Ground. The draw prompted a vivid celebrity reaction as one co-owner, watched alongside a fellow actor and long-time supporter, expressed audible disbelief on social media before celebrating with friends. That public jubilation reflects the scale of the occasion for a club that has not been as deep into the competition in decades.
Wrexham have never won the FA Cup and their best runs saw quarter-final appearances in the 1970s and 1990s. Since new ownership elevated the club back through the leagues, reaching the fifth round again has captured supporters’ attention and created a lucrative home tie against an eight-time winner of the competition. The fixture will be a major event for the town and club, with ticket details to be announced in the coming weeks.
Scheduling notes and remaining uncertainties
All fifth-round ties are scheduled across the weekend of March 7-8, 2026 (ET). One fourth-round match between Port Vale and Bristol City was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch and has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 2: 45 p. m. ET; the winner will travel to Sunderland in the fifth round.
The draw underscores both the cup’s potential for David-versus-Goliath encounters and the inevitability of heavyweight matchups as the competition tightens. For underdog clubs like Mansfield and Wrexham, hosting elite opposition offers financial reward and a chance at sporting immortality. For the big clubs, the ties present tricky trips where form can be rendered irrelevant by the single-match knockout format.
Expect ticket demand to surge for the headline ties and for naturally heightened security and logistics at venues unaccustomed to hosting top-flight sides. The FA Cup’s random draw has once again delivered compelling stories and high-stakes drama ahead of March’s weekend fixtures.
