Two former Premier League champions will go head-to-head on Sunday in the FA Cup’s Fifth Round as Blackburn Rovers host Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.

Rovers famously won the title in 1994-1995, as Alan Shearer and co. pipped United to first place in what was – up until last season with Leicester City – the most unlikely of Premier League title wins.

United, meanwhile, have won the First Division title a whopping 20 times, their most recent one coming in 2012-2013 during Sir Alex Ferguson’s last season in charge.

That year seems a distant cry away from where United currently sit, with the club having struggled for such dominance in recent seasons under David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and now Jose Mourinho.

But United’s downfall over the past few seasons bares minimal in comparison with Blackburn, who now reside in 23rd position in the Championship and look all but set for relegation to League 1.

While Owen Coyle’s side’s form has picked up slightly as of late, the club still look a poor outfit, and United fans will have been rubbing their hands at the chance to make it through to the FA Cup quarter-finals as they try to defend the trophy they won last season.

Bearing in mind the limited quality of the opposition, we take a look at three youngsters who deserve a chance to impress Mourinho vs Rovers.

Marcus Rashford

It seems odd talking about Marcus Rashford as if he is an up-and-coming youngster having seen his unbelievable breakthrough into the first team and England squad last year, but he’s still some way off the finished article.

The 19-year-old has fallen down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho – whose reputation for excluding young players once again has followed him to Old Trafford – but still impressed when given the chance, looking as exciting as ever, albeit slightly less clinical.

He can be forgiven though as he’s been utilised out wide for much of he campaign, a position he is not normally accustomed to. Keeping a starlet that could be the future of English football happy, fit and with game-time under his belt is important.

Axel Tuanzebe

Tipped by Louis Van Gaal last season to make a breakthrough but never given the opportunity, Tuanzebe actually got his chance under Jose Mourinho this term, as he played against Wigan in the previous round.

United won comfortably 4-0 and young Tuanzebe impressed with a commanding performance at the back, albeit against a weak Wigan Athletic attack. The DR Congo born defender has both the physical attributes – tall, strong, pacy – to succeed at United as well as the mental, with his reading the game being excellent for such a young player. His ability to lead sides is also something to admire, having captained the U-19s on multiple occasions.

Joel Castro Pereira

It may seem silly to drop your top shot-stopper, perhaps even the best in the world, but at some point United will start having to look the future, whether it be with David De Gea or without.

Joel Castro Pereira, like Tuanzebe, made his professional Red Devils debut against Wigan in the previous round of the completion, but was given little time to impress having come on as an 80th minute substitute for Sergio Romero.

The Portugal U-20 star was recalled from his loan spell at Belenenses after the departure of Sam Johnstone on loan to Aston Villa, and he impressed for the Primera Liga side, making nine appearances for the club.

During Arsenal’s FA Cup win against Sutton United, Theo Walcott joined elite company as he became only the 18th player to score 100 goals for the Gunners in all competitions.

The winger has been a key player at Arsenal since signing for the club when he was 17-years-old and became England’s youngest ever senior footballer in his teenage years

Walcott’s scorching pace makes him a nightmare to defend against and in addition to his goalscoring touch, he is an excellent playmaker, with 73 assists to his name at Arsenal.

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But, the club have not been as successful as they would have liked to have been over Walcott’s time there – the only silverware Arsenal have won in his time is the FA Cup – and the 27-year-old has battled several injuries over the course of his career, so his 100 goals is a good achievement.

Alas, opinion remains divided… is he an Arsenal success? Or a Gunners flop?

Vote below…

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Everton put up a spirited showing against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday but failed to close the gap on Manchester United, slipping to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Mauricio Pochettino’s men.Nevertheless, the Toffees appear to be on an upward trajectory under Ronald Koeman and barring any dramatic upheaval in the summer are well placed to mount a serious challenge on the top six positions in the league next year.Central to those efforts will be Romelu Lukaku, who continues to show he is the talismanic force Everton require to be a successful side in the English top-flight. He was on the scoresheet again at White Hart Lane, sparking the beginnings of a comeback before Spurs killed the game off in the final minutes of the match.As this stat from Squawka shows, it was a goal that now sets him apart as a modern legend at Goodison Park, becoming the club’s leading goalscorer in the Premier League era.

It’s a fantastic achievement and a total that is likely to be stretched further and further should he stay at the club beyond the upcoming transfer window.

Retaining Lukaku is going to be vital to Ronald Koeman’s ambitions but if he can convince the Belgian striker to stay, the good times are just beginning at Goodison.

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As reported by The Daily Mirror, Arsene Wenger has been given a deadline to decide whether his time at Arsenal will be over come the end of the season or not.

What’s the story?

Wenger has been manager of Arsenal for over 20 years but after another particularly poor season and some humiliating defeats, his time at the club could be coming to an end.

The Mirror report that Arsenal chiefs have given the Frenchman until April 2nd to decide whether or not he will sign a new contract at the club or not.

That means he’ll have the space and time the international break provides to have a serious think about his future and whether his presence is still the best thing for the Gunners.

Wenger has so far refused to commit to the club, saying publicly that he’ll decide upon his future at the end of the season.

As quoted by The Mirror, he said:

I have shown in my life that I try to serve this club with total commitment and I will do that as long as I am here. How long? I don’t know. I have shown a lot of loyalty and my preference is here. I focus on my job and let others judge my performances.

It seems though than he will ultimately have to be his own critic with the report suggesting that the Arsenal hierarchy feel he should call his own time on the club instead of facing the indignity of being sacked.

Are we seeing the final months of Wenger’s Premier League career?

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With the likes of captain Virgil van Dijk, Cedric Soares, Ryan Bertrand and Dusan Tadic already being linked with moves away from Southampton this summer, it could prove to be another busy transfer window on the south coast.

While there may be a number of departures – as has become the norm for Saints fans to deal with in recent years – one player that they should look to bring to the club is Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Despite making just eight appearances in all competitions for the Blues this term, the 21-year-old was the star for the England U-21 side as they thrashed fellow EURO 2017 finalists Denmark 4-0 in a friendly on Monday night.

The midfielder – playing in a more advanced role than where he usually has throughout his career to date – scored twice in an impressive all-round performance for the Young Lions.

Here are THREE reasons Southampton should sign the Chelsea midfielder this summer…

Partner for Romeu

Despite starting the season with a diamond set-up in midfield, Saints manager Claude Puel has recently reverted to the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been so successful for the club in recent seasons.

It has meant that Steven Davis has slotted in alongside Oriol Romeu in central midfield, but the Northern Ireland international has looked far from comfortable there.

With the likes of Jordy Clasie, Harrison Reed and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg also looking to be out of favour, it is a position that Puel may look to strengthen in the summer – he could do a lot worse than sign the energetic box-to-box Chelsea player.

Knows Young Lions team-mates

While it can take some time to settle into a new club sometimes – especially after spending your career with one team – it wouldn’t be too much of a problem for Loftus-Cheek if he did make the move to St Mary’s.

The 21-year-old will know the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond and Matt Targett well from his time with the England U-21 side, and will already be accustomed to their style of play.

With the World Cup just over a year away and Ward-Prowse and Redmond receiving their first senior caps last week following some impressive performances for the Saints, Loftus-Cheek will know that a big season on the south coast could see him make the plane to Russia.

Fits into club’s transfer philosophy

As they did when they signed the likes of Romeu from Chelsea and Hojbjerg from Bayern Munich, Southampton like to give opportunities to players that have potential, but perhaps haven’t had the opportunities they might have deserved at the big clubs.

Loftus-Cheek certainly fits into that category, and having made just eight appearances for the Blues this season, he could be available for a reasonable transfer fee, too, if he decides that he need to leave Stamford Bridge in search of regular first team football.

Over the last few weeks, as a variety of contract situations have combined with a run of disastrous form to create an almost unbearable bubble of self-destructive pressure in north London, Alexis Sanchez has received his fair share of criticism.

It’s certainly true that the Chile international has cut a frustrated figure amid Arsenal’s exit from the Premier League title race and embarrassing elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich, leading some to question whether the attitudes of key players are more culpable than Arsene Wenger in determining where yet another Gunners season has gone so abruptly wrong.

It’s also certainly true – well, almost certainly – that Chelsea want to sign the contractually rebellious forward in the summer, once again leading to inquests into his loyalty to Arsenal on social media and subsequently, the aforementioned criticisms of his attitude.

But if Sanchez is thinking of leaving Arsenal this summer, if his head is already at Chelsea and if his attitude is causing problems for his team-mates, he showed absolutely no signs of that as Arsenal drew with Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

It was a weird game for Sanchez, one in which his team scored twice but he didn’t directly affect the scoreline, which is unusual for the often-talismanic South American. But it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying, with him laying on two scoring opportunities for his team-mates, having an effort at goal himself, running through the City defence like a hot knife through butter with seven successful dribbles and finishing up with the most touches of any Arsenal player.

But it was Sanchez’s defensive contributions that showed his head is still in the right place – at least when he puts on an Arsenal jersey and crosses that white line. He completed three tackles and five interceptions, ranking second on both counts throughout the Gunners starting XI, and also won two aerial duels (not shown above).

Although he struggled to influence the match going forward, Sanchez still made an important impact off the ball, trying to protect an Arsenal defence that let in two incredibly sloppy goals in the first half. That’s not only the sign of a quality player who has the ability to make a difference in unsuspecting ways, but also of a team player prepared to sacrifice his own starring role for the sake of a result – something you certainly can’t say about every member of Arsenal’s talented attack.

As reported by The Evening Times, Stuart McCall has called upon new Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha to hand the veteran Kenny Miller at new deal at Ibrox when his current contract expires this summer.

What’s the story?

Miller has been one of Rangers’ most consistent players this season, scoring more Scottish Premiership goals than any other player at Ibrox, with nine in total.

However, his future at the club is in limbo with the striker having still been offered a new deal to extend his stay in Glasgow.

According to one former Rangers manager, Stuart McCall, the decision on whether or not to offer Miller a new deal is an easy one.

Speaking to The Evening Times, McCall said:

I don’t know the philosophy and what the new manager might want. For myself, it would be a no-brainer. He has the know-how, the experience and he is probably in the running to be the Player of the Year for Rangers. I don’t know why there is a delay but I would get him signed up for his impact and help in and around the football club, as well as on the park.

At 37 years of age, there’s no doubt that Miller is in the twilight of his career but given his form so far this season, you’d be hard pushed to argue that his time is up at Scottish Premiership level.

The Light Blues need all hands on deck if they are to attempt to close the gap on Celtic next season and even having him around to help coach youngsters and appear of the bench would be a suitable suggestion. He clearly loves the club and is exactly the type of professional young players coming through Auchenhowie can look up to.

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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed in his pre-match press conference for the crucial Premier League clash against Southampton that striker Diego Costa wasn’t happy to be named among the substitutes for the FA Cup semi-final win against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Saturday.

The Italian confirmed that the Spaniard was less than pleased to be dropped for the 4-2 extra-time victory against Spurs, with Michy Batshuayi instead given a rare start in attack.

Costa did replace the Belgian attacker in the 61st minute however, but the 28-year-old has now failed to score in his last seven appearances for the west London outfit, which has led to some criticism from the fans.

Chelsea supporters were quick to give their reaction to Conte’s comments via social media, with many fans not wanting to see the striker given another start for the rest of the season.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction to the story…

Manchester City made a top four statement on Saturday with a thumping 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Etihad. It’s a result that sees them leapfrog Liverpool into third on goal difference and gives them an excellent chance of securing UEFA Champions League football next season.

Goals from David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi gave City the win in a flamboyant display that has left Liverpool fans feeling a little insecure.

The Reds have a massive match at home to Southampton on Sunday, a must win encounter. It seems as if they won’t be able to rely on any slip ups from the blue half of Manchester, with City looking so strong, and as Manchester United continue to snap at their heels, the pressure is on.

The result is particularly galling for Liverpool fans given they were defeated at Anfield against Crystal Palace just two weeks ago when a Christian Benteke double dealt them a big blow.

Reds fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on what the City result means…

According to recent reports from The Independent, Chelsea could revive their interest in Fernando Llorente during the summer transfer window.

The Spain international has since confirmed to The Daily Mail that the Blues tried to sign him in January following a solid first half of the season at Swansea City.

Llorente is set to end the season as the Welsh outfit’s top scorer in the Premier League, playing a huge role in their survival bid with 14 goals.

And although he may not be the most eye-catching of footballers, whilst his limited mobility has lead to criticism at times this season, his towering 6 foot 4 frame is clearly effective in the Premier League.

Vaving plied his trade at the top level of the game before with Juventus, Llorente could prove to be a useful member of Chelsea’s squad next season, offering experience, physicality and firepower.

So, Chelsea fans, would you back a summer swoop for Llorente? Let us know by voting below…