Albion draw Albion in FA Cup Fourth Round
There will be an Albion derby in round four of the FA Cup after Brighton and Hove Albion were paired with West Bromwich Albion in the next round of the competition.
The tie will take place at the Amex between Friday 25th to Monday 28th January. Given that it appears on paper to be a fixture which is about as interesting as filing a tax return, there seems little prospect of it being selected for live television coverage and tickets should be very reasonably priced for exactly the same reason.
While the rest of the nation may have no interest, Seagulls supporters certainly should. Having seen Chris Hughton’s “second string” dismantle Plucky Little Bournemouth 3-1 in the third round, there isn’t a side left in the competition outside of the top six that the Albion should fear facing.
And with Premier League leaders Liverpool already eliminated at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers and one of Arsenal or Manchester United set to follow in the next round after they were paired together, the draw is opening up nicely for some of the country’s smaller clubs to go far in the competition.
Why not the Albion? Last season’s run to the quarter finals was thoroughly enjoyable and you only need to reach the semi’s to guarantee a day out at Wembley for an occasion that isn’t a league game played in front of a half empty stadium against a side whose only purpose in life is to finish above Arsenal.
With West Brom’s priority this season an immediate return to the Premier League, it’s unlikely that Darren Moore will be taking the FA Cup too seriously.
The Baggies sent out a reserve side in their 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the last round and if they do similar at the Amex, an Albion line up featuring the likes of Bruno, Leon Balogun, Yves Bissouma, Anthony Knockaert and Jurgen Locadia should prove to be too strong for our Championship opponents.
This will be the first ever FA Cup meeting between the two Albions. The only previous clash outside of league competition in the League Cup in the 1976-77 season, Peter Ward scoring twice in a 2-0 win for third tier Brighton against a Baggies side who would go onto finish in seventh place in the top flight that season.
A similar result when the sides meet in three weeks time and we’ll be just two wins from appearing under the Wembley arch. What a season this could end up being if Hughton’s side were to achieve that.
