Match Preview
Stoke City v Fulham
FA Cup 4th Round 25/26 at Bet365 Stadium.
Sunday 15th February 2026 KO: 14:00
Referee:
Josh Smith (Cambridgeshire)
TNT Sports 6/discovery+
|
Fulham head up to Championship side Stoke City on Sunday as both sides take a break from league action and turn their attention to their FA Cup fourth-round clash.
Wins have been hard to come by for both sides in recent weeks, with the Potters suffering a late 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic in midweek while the Cottagers were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City.
Fulham's a good run over the New Year period has been followed up with a disappointing February, which has seen them fall out of the top half.
Three straight losses to Manchester United, Everton and Manchester City now mean the Cottagers sit 12th in the league and 10 points adrift of the European places.
Wednesday's reverse to Manchester City saw Marco Silva's side torn apart after just 39 minutes thanks to goals from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland.
With the Premier League not providing any positive results as of late for Fulham, they may view this FA Cup tie against lower-league opposition as an opportunity to restore confidence and build momentum.
The Cottagers advanced to this stage of the cup after an impressive 3-1 win over Middlesbrough back in January, thanks to goals from Harry Wilson, Emile Smith Rowe and Kevin.
This will be the first time these two sides have met since 2022, with Fulham winning the last three encounters.
After a disappointing 18th-placed finish last season, Stoke City made an encouraging start to the current campaign.
However, a prolonged run of poor results has seen them slip out of the playoff places and drift down the Championship table.
Their latest defeat would have been particularly disappointing, after conceding an 81st-minute winner from former player Tyreece Campbell against a relegation-threatened Charlton.
With no victories in their last six outings, Mark Robins’s side now sit 14th in the table on 43 points.
With that said, the Championship remains tightly contested, and Stoke are still within touching distance of the playoffs, with just four points separating them from sixth-placed Wrexham.
One issue for the Potters in recent weeks has been their attacking output, an area Robins will hope improves as the business end of the season draws closer and they look to mount a late surge back into the playoff places.
In their last six matches, Stoke City have found the back of the net just twice, leaving them with the seventh-worst attacking record in the division.
Stoke City kicked off their FA Cup campaign with a surprising victory over Championship league leaders Coventry City; they will have to cause an even bigger shock on Sunday if they are to progress to the round of 16.
|
-
Fulham and Stoke City have previously met once before in the FA Cup, with the Cottagers winning 3-0 in the fourth round in January 2007 at Craven Cottage.
-
Fulham have progressed from each of their last seven FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, since losing 2-1 at home to fourth tier Oldham Athletic in January 2019.
-
Fulham will be looking to reach the FA Cup fifth round for the second consecutive season, last achieving that feat in three seasons in a row between 2008-09 and 2010-11.
-
Stoke have progressed from five of their seven FA Cup fourth round ties played on home soil this century, though they were beaten in a penalty shoot-out by Cardiff City in this round last season at the bet365 Stadium after a 3-3 draw.
-
Stoke have won each of their last five home FA Cup ties against sides from London, scoring 13 goals in total during that time which includes a 2-0 victory vs Leyton Orient in their last such match at the third round stage in January 2022.
`
`
Source Calum Burrowes at SportsMole/BBCSports