FA Cup could pit Bridge against Terry yet again

John Terry and Wayne Bridge could be seeing an awful lot of each other over the next few weeks after Chelsea and Manchester City were drawn together in the FA Cup quarter finals.

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy after it emerged that he had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the girlfriend of his former Chelsea team-mate Bridge.  The pair, who were once friends, have apparently not spoken since the scandal broke, and Bridge is said to be distraught.

Now the defenders could come face to face three times in just over a week. Manchester City will visit Stamford Bridge at the end of the month and Bridge and Terry are both likely to be on international duty the following week as England prepare for their friendly at Wembley on March 3. The final meeting would come on the weekend after the England game when City could travel to London once again for an FA Cup clash.

City will need to beat Stoke before they earn the right to take on Chelsea, who are the favourites for the cup. Roberto Mancini's men were held to a 1-1 draw by the Potters at the weekend, while Chelsea eased into the last eight with a 4-1 win over Cardiff.

The fact that only one out of Chelsea and City can make it to the semi-finals will please Harry Redknapp and Martin O'Neill, whose Spurs and Aston Villa sides both now have serious designs on the cup.

Spurs' do not face an easy ride if they are to reach the last four. They were held by Bolton Wanderers on Sunday and must beat Owen Coyle's men in a replay at White Hart lane if they are to take on Fulham in the quarter finals. Fulham beat Notts County at the weekend and will have home advantage against either Spurs or Bolton, and they too will have designs on a trip to Wembley in May.

Villa must replay against Crystal Palace of the Championship in order to take their place in the last eight. A pulsating cup tie at Selhurst Park ended 2-2 on Sunday, but Villa will fancy their chances against cash-strapped Palace at Villa Park. If they win their reward will be a trip to either Reading or West Brom, if Palace pull off an upset there will be at least Championship side in the semis.

The last quarter final sees Portsmouth play Birmingham, provided Pompey survive a winding-up petition brought by Revenue & Customs, due to be heard on March 1. Portsmouth overcame their local rivals Southampton on Saturday - it was the first time they have ever beaten them in the cup.

Birmingham, one of four West Midlands teams still left in the draw, made it into the last eight thanks to a last-minute winner against Derby.

FA Cup sixth-round draw:

Chelsea v Manchester City or Stoke City
Fulham v Bolton Wanderers or Tottenham Hotspur
Reading or West Bromwich Albion v Crystal Palace or Aston Villa
Portsmouth v Birmingham City ·