Neville and Beckham against Manchester City

The oldest competition in the world, the English FA Cup, has once again delivered some brilliant moments this season. Small sixth-tier side Macclesfield knocked out last year’s FA Cup winners Crystal Palace last month, while the greatest success in history has also been achieved by modest Salford, a Manchester-based team that plays in England’s fourth tier. For the first time, they have reached the fourth round of the FA Cup — the Round of 32.

Today, Salford will likely play the biggest match in their history, away to Manchester City at the Etihad. Since 2014, the club had been owned by former Manchester United stars Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, and David Beckham. Later, one of the owners of Inter Miami purchased 10 percent of the shares from Singaporean businessman Peter Lim. Last May, there was another change in ownership, and the club is now in the hands of Beckham and Neville, along with American businessmen Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies.

Salford play in League Two and are currently in a playoff spot, giving them a chance to earn promotion to the higher division — League One. Ahead of the match against the Citizens, Salford City announced that they have extended the contract of manager Karl Robinson. He arrived at the Peninsula Stadium in January 2024, and this year achieved the club’s greatest FA Cup success. In the previous round, Swindon were beaten, and now this fourth-division side faces a mission impossible — a visit to Manchester City — but also a huge challenge to test themselves against Pep Guardiola’s machine, which is competing for four trophies this season.

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Former United star Paul Scholes serves as an advisor at the club.

“Karl was fantastic from the very first moment we met him and brought great energy and determination to the club. We can see his passion for football and how much he cares about the game, the players, everyone at the club. We look forward to working with him in the future,” said Scholes. The biggest threat to City comes from forward Daniel Udoh, the team’s top scorer this season with seven goals and also their leading provider with seven assists. Kelly N’Mai has scored five, while Callum Hendry and Kadeem Harris have four each — names that mean little even to many English football followers. After all, this is a fourth-tier team.

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Pep Guardiola will certainly rotate the squad and give opportunities to players who have had fewer minutes recently. Norwegian striker Erling Haaland will not feature, as he is not 100 percent fit after coming off at halftime in last week’s match against Fulham. For the visit of their neighbours from Salford, ticket prices are significantly lower than for Premier League and Champions League matches. Tickets start at 17.50 pounds, while children’s tickets cost just 7.50.

FA CUP - ROUND 4

Friday

Hull - Chelsea 0-4 (0-1)

/Neto 40,51,71, Estevao 59/

Wrexham - Ipswich 1-0 (1-0)

/Windass 34/

Saturday

15.15: (8.50) Burton (4.90) West Ham (1.37)

18.00: (1.42) Burnley (4.50) Mansfield (7.75)

18.00: (1.02) Man.City (16.0) Salford City (60.0)

18.00: (2.25) Norwich (3.40) WBA (3.20)

18.00: (4.60) Port Vale (3.60) Bristol City (1.80)

18.00: (1.75) Southampton (3.60) Leicester (4.90)

20.45: (2.20) Aston Villa (3.60) Newcastle (3.05)

23.00: (1.55) Liverpool (4.20) Brighton (5.90)

Sunday

15.00: (3.25) Birmingham (3.45) Leeds (2.20)

16.30: (6.75) Grimsby (4.40) Wolverhampton (1.47)

17.00: (5.00) Oxford (3.50) Sunderland (1.75)

17.00: (4.90) Stoke (3.60) Fulham (1.75)

19.30: (1.03) Arsenal (15.0) Wigan (50.0)

Monday

22.30: (12.0) Macclesfield (6.50) Brentford (1.22)

***odds are subject to change***