Port Vale

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  1. Follow Sunday's FA Cup ties livepublished at 11:01 GMT 8 March

    A graphic showing players from five English clubs - Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Ipswich Town and Birmingham City - around the FA Cup, with the text: "Follow the teams you care about. Sign in or create an account for the latest news, insight, expert opinion, fan views and stats, and to get notifications."
    An image detailing how to follow your team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.

    There are three fifth-round ties in the FA Cup on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

    Kick-off times GMT

    Follow all of the action and reaction here

    You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Fulham v Southampton" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Leeds v Norwich", for instance.

    Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

    How to follow the FA Cup fifth round on the BBC

    The orange BBC Sounds logo against a black background
  2. Sutton's predictions: Port Vale v Sunderlandpublished at 19:14 GMT 7 March

    Chris Sutton smiling on a yellow and black background with 'Sutton's predictions' written below his face

    No-one can tell me that Vale Park is an easy place to go because when I took my Lincoln City side there in 2010, we were 3-0 down inside 15 minutes and Vale had missed a penalty by then as well.

    Still, we only lost 4-0 in the end, which felt like a victory on the bus afterwards. I was going to stop and get my players a crate of beers for the journey home - but maybe if I had done that on the way there, we would have done a bit better.

    Port Vale have done brilliantly to get this far, because they are having a terrible time of it in League One. Lincoln have already beaten them this season, probably because I'm not their manager anymore.

    Sunderland are another team who I would like to see go far in the FA Cup, because it would cap a fine season.

    Vale are in the fifth round for the first time in 30 years, and I wish them lots of luck... but I don't see them being in the hat for the quarter-finals.

    Sutton's prediction: 0-4

    Read the full predictions and have your say here

  3. Pick of the stats: Port Vale v Bristol Citypublished at 11:15 GMT 2 March

    Port Vale and Bristol City club badgesImage source, Opta

    Port Vale welcome Bristol City for their rearranged FA Cup fourth-round tie on Tuesday night (kick-off 19:45 GMT).

    The original encounter scheduled for 14 February was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch and a fifth-round tie at home to Premier League side Sunderland awaits the winner.

    Vale are rooted to the foot of the League One table, 10 points adrift of safety, and have won three of their past 11 matches (D3 L5) in all competitions since beating Fleetwood 1-0 in the FA Cup third round.

    The Robins are 10th in the Championship, 38 league places higher than Vale, though their play-off bid has stuttered with Gerhard Struber's side seven points behind the top six after three wins in their past nine league games (D2 L4) since the 5-1 win over Watford in round three of the FA Cup.

    • Port Vale and Bristol City have never previously faced each other in the FA Cup, with this the first meeting between the two sides since a 3-1 victory for the Robins in League One in February 2015.

    • Bristol City have won eight of their past nine games against Port Vale (D1) – since the first game in this run in April 2005, their 89% win-rate against the Valiants is their strongest against any side they've played more than three times.

    • This is Port Vale's first FA Cup fourth round tie since falling to a 3-1 defeat to Brighton in 2013-14. The Valiants have been eliminated from five of their past six ties at this stage of the competition, last progressing to the fifth round in 1995-96.

    • Bristol City have progressed from five of their past six FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, while they have won eight of their last 10 away games in the competition against lower tier opponents.

    • Emil Riis has been involved in five goals in four starts in the FA Cup (4 goals, 1 assist), scoring a hat-trick for Bristol City in their 5-1 win in this season's third round, their first FA Cup hat-trick since Phil Jevons in December 2006 against Gillingham.

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  4. Rainbow ball back in EFL anti-homophobia campaignpublished at 11:36 GMT 19 February

    A close up of Puma's rainbow ball that features a selection of colourful geometrical shapes on a traditional white backgroundImage source, EFL
    Image caption,

    This is the third year the EFL have used the rainbow ball campaign

    Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

    The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

    Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

    The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

    The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

    The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

    "The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

    "It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

  5. FA Cup fifth-round draw made published at 18:43 GMT 16 February

    The balls being prepared for the FA Cup drawImage source, Getty Images

    The draw for the FA Cup fifth round has been made. Here is a list of all the ties in the order they were drawn.

    • Fulham v Southampton

    • Port Vale or Bristol City v Sunderland

    • Newcastle United v Manchester City

    • Leeds United v Norwich City

    • Mansfield Town v Arsenal

    • Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool

    • Wrexham v Chelsea

    • West Ham v Macclesfield or Brentford

    The matches will be played over the weekend of 7 March.

    Watch all the highlights and best video from this season's FA Cup

  6. When is FA Cup fifth-round draw?published at 08:16 GMT 16 February

    FA CupImage source, Getty Images

    The 2025-26 FA Cup fifth-round draw will take place on Monday, 16 February at about 18:35 GMT.

    It will be done before the fourth-round tie between Macclesfield Town - the lowest-ranked team left in the competition - and Brentford, with former England internationals Joe Cole and Karen Carney conducting the draw on TNT Sports.

    Supporters can also follow the draw on the BBC Sport website and app.

    All matches will be played around the weekend commencing Saturday, 7 March.

    Unlike in previous years, there are no replays if matches end as a draw. All ties will go to extra time, and if necessary, a penalty shootout.

    What are the ball numbers?

    1. Liverpool

    2. Fulham

    3. Sunderland

    4. Southampton

    5. Wrexham

    6. Arsenal

    7. Chelsea

    8. West Ham United

    9. Mansfield Town

    10. Norwich City

    11. Port Vale or Bristol City

    12. Wolverhampton Wanderers

    13. Newcastle United

    14. Manchester City

    15. Macclesfield or Brentford

    16. Leeds United

  7. Follow Saturday's FA Cup ties livepublished at 11:03 GMT 14 February

    A graphic showing players from five English clubs - Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Ipswich Town and Birmingham City - around the FA Cup, with the text: "Follow the teams you care about. Sign in or create an account for the latest news, insight, expert opinion, fan views and stats, and to get notifications."
    An image detailing how to follow your team on BBC Sport: "On the app? Tap the bell icon to get news about your club sent to you. Signed in on a browser? Hit 'Follow' to stay up to date.

    There are seven ties in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

    Kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless stated

    Follow all of the action and reaction here

    You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Burton v West Ham" of "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v Brighton", for instance.

    Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

    How to follow the FA Cup fourth round on the BBC

    The BBC iPlayer logo on a black background
    The BBC Sounds logo against a black background