LONDON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Premier League takes a break this weekend as attention focuses on the fifth round of the FA Cup, which several sides will be viewing as their only chance of silverware this season.
Manchester City is out of the Premier League title race and out of Europe, which should motivate Pep Guardiola to field a strong starting 11 in its home game against Plymouth Argyle.
Plymouth is currently in the Championship (second division) relegation zone, but sprung the surprise of the competition, when it knocked Liverpool out of the last round and will bring several thousand fans with it for the visit to Manchester.
Liverpool and Arsenal's absence from the fifth round means other teams will also view the FA Cup as a possible title and a ticket to Europe.
Newcastle United will play Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final and Eddie Howe's side also has a chance of reaching the FA Cup final, although it has a tough game at home to Brighton.
Striker Alexander Isak is a doubt after missing this week's league defeat to Liverpool with a groin injury and Brighton travel after four consecutive wins, including a 2-1 FA Cup win over Brighton in the wake of a 7-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest at the start of February.
Nottingham Forest plays Ipswich Town in an all-Premier League tie on Monday, although Ipswich could be more focused on trying to maintain its top-flight status after a difficult season and will struggle against Forest's height from set pieces.
Manchester United also has the chance to save something from an otherwise miserable campaign, but will have to get past an always difficult Fulham side at Old Trafford.
A look at the history books may give United coach Ruben Amorim some comfort as it shows Fulham's last FA Cup win over his side was back in 1908.
Bournemouth plays at home to Wolverhampton in another all-Premier League clash, which comes just a week after a Matheus Cunha goal gave Wolves a 1-0 league win in Bournemouth.
Home coach Andoni Iraola will hope that this time his side can keep 11 players on the pitch after Illia Zabarnyi's early red card last weekend left Bournemouth with a mountain to climb.
Aston Villa gets things underway on Friday night with a home game against Cardiff City, whose main focus is avoiding relegation from the Championship this season.
Crystal Palace is at home to Millwall from the Championship in what is likely to be a feisty south-London derby, while there is all-Championship Lancashire derby between Preston North End and promotion chasing Burnley, which is unlikely to produce many goals. ■
