ESPN in the UK

ESPN to broadcast three live fixtures over three days: Luton Town v Millwall on Saturday 16th February, Manchester City v Leeds United on Sunday 17th February, and Manchester United v Reading on Monday 18th February

New games add to live coverage of Fourth Round replay between Leicester City and Huddersfield Town

Three games from the Fifth Round of the FA Cup will be live and exclusive on ESPN as it continues its coverage of a competition filled with shocks this year. ESPN kicks off the Fifth Round on Saturday 16th February live from Kenilworth Road as Conference outfit Luton Town welcome Millwall. Sunday 17th February brings Leeds United’s visit to Manchester City, while on the Monday night, Manchester United take on Reading.

Saturday 16th February at noon sees Luton Town take on Millwall. The Hatters have already caused one of the biggest surprises of the FA Cup in recent years, knocking out Norwich in a Fourth Round 1-0 victory at Carrow Road, becoming the first non-league side to knock out a Premier League team in more than 20 years. Their path to that game included another giantkilling – beating Wolves 1-0, and Millwall will want to avoid becoming the next side to fall to Paul Buckle’s men. The Lions pulled off a giantkilling of their own in the Fourth Round, when a late John Marquis goal at the New Den knocked out struggling Aston Villa.

ESPN will be live from the Etihad Stadium at 1.30pm on Sunday 17th February as Manchester City face Leeds United. The home side have enjoyed a relatively smooth path to the Fifth Round, starting with a comfortable 3-0 win over Watford, before Pablo Zabaleta’s late strike took Roberto Mancini’s men past Stoke in the Fourth Round. Leeds contributed to a Fourth Round full of shocks by dismissing Spurs with a 2-1 win at Elland Road.

ESPN rounds off its live and exclusive FA Cup Fifth Round coverage with Manchester United’s game against Reading. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men began the competition narrowly avoiding a Third Round exit at the hands of West Ham as Robin van Persie’s late goal secured a replay, followed by a 4-1 win against Fulham. Reading have scored seven goals over two FA Cup games so far, putting three past Crawley and then scoring four against Sheffield United in the Fourth Round. The teams’ last meeting in the FA Cup also came in the Fifth Round, in 2007; United overcame the Royals after a replay, and went on to reach the final.

Simon Potter, head of programming and production, ESPN, EMEA, said: “This season’s FA Cup has been full of eye-catching results and great drama, so we’re looking forward to bringing viewers more of the same in the Fifth Round. The draw has once again produced some great match-ups and the battle for the Sixth Round is sure to be just as intense.”

4^TH ROUND REPLAY

ESPN’s extensive coverage of three FA Cup Fifth Round games follows on from its live and exclusive broadcast of the Fourth Round replay between Leicester City and Huddersfield Town on Tuesday 12th February 2013.

FA CUP ON ESPN

ESPN will broadcast 25 live and exclusive FA Cup matches this season, from the First Round through to the Final, ensuring fans won’t miss any of the competition’s unique drama and storylines. As well as selected replays through the tournament, the sports media company televises two matches in the first two rounds, three matches from the third to fifth rounds, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the FA Cup Final. ESPN Classic will feature an extensive programming line-up of great FA Cup moments, airing on the channel every night in January.

ESPN.co.uk, ESPN’s news and information portal, offers football fans in the UK online coverage of the FA Cup including special features. ESPNFC.com, ESPN’s multi-platform, multi-language and multi-country global football brand, will provide live scores and match reports, plus access to a network of bloggers. Both sites will also offer video highlights of selected FA Cup matches. On mobile, fans can access all of the best content from ESPN.co.uk via the mobile web, and, from ESPNFC.com via a dedicated mobile app.