Will a Premier League club win the FA Cup?
You have to go back to 1980 to see a team outside the top division win the FA Cup final. That year, West Ham United defeated Arsenal, winning his third and last title. It was considered a major upset since the Hammers ended 7th of the Second Division while the Gunners – which won the cup the previous year – had finished 4th in the First Division.
However, West Ham is not the only one that achieved such a feat. Tottenham Hotspur was the first team to make history in 1901. Not only because it defeated Sheffield United that was in Division 1 but also because it was in the Southern League at the time. And it didn’t enter the English Football League before 1908. Therefore, Tottenham is the only non-League team that won the FA Cup.
On top of these two, six other teams from inferior divisions managed to win the title: Notts County (1894), Wolverhampton Wanderers (1908), Barnsley (1912), West Bromwich Albion (1931), Sunderland (1973) and Southampton (1976). However, it has been 39 years since West Ham’s victory and no other club has been able to beat a top division team.
This year, two teams from Championship reached the quarter finals that will take place in mid-March. Swansea City is one of them and it will face Manchester City. The second one is Millwall which opponent is Brighton & Hove Albion. The other two games will see Watford vs. Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Manchester United.
Chelsea, the current title holder, lost to Manchester United in the previous round. It is fair to say the Red Devils got their revenge since they lost the final last year against the Blues. Also, Manchester United is the second team with the most FA Cup trophies (12 titles) behind Arsenal (13 titles) and could maybe win its 13th one this year to equal the Gunners record.
As for Swansea City, they never won any title so far and never reached the final stage. However, they reached the semi-finals twice. Once in 1926 where they lost to the Bolton Wanderers (0-3) and a second one in 1964 where they were defeated by Preston North End (1-2). After reaching the Premier League in 2011, they finally got relegated to Championship last year where they are ranked 12th this season.
Last year, Swansea reached the quarter-finals and were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur (0-3). This time, they will have to face the Citizens and it will be a tough challenge for the Welsh team. Since 2011, both teams faced 15 times and Swansea managed to win once against Manchester City in 2012 (1-0). Therefore, it could definitely create an upset if they play well and reach the semi-finals.
Milwall only spent two seasons in the top division from 1988 to 1990. Since then, the club has been oscillating between the Third and Second Divisions. It’s Millwall’s second season since it got promoted to Championship and its performances are pretty poor. Currently ranked 20th, the team could be relegated again if it cannot climb up the rankings before the end of the season.
Last year, the team didn’t make it past the fourth round. It doesn’t hold any title yet but managed to reach the final once in 2004 where it was defeated by Manchester United (0-3). On the last five games played between Milwall and Brighton, three ended in a draw and each team shared a win. This year, in the fourth round, Millwall defeated Everton which is better ranked than Brighton so it has its chances.
Both Swansea and Millwall could create an upset and make history again 39 years after West Ham did. It all amounts to how prepared they will be before facing their respective opponents. But also to how well they will play on the pitch to ensure success.
