English FA CUP
2026-03-07 - Mansfield Town vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English FA Cup Fifth Round
Saturday 7th March 2026 - Kick Off 12:15pm
This game is live on TV
Mansfield Town
Nigel Clough's team may have taken a hammering on the underlying numbers, but they managed to rally from a goal behind to upset Premier League Burnley in the FA Cup Fourth Round. The reward is a home tie with Premier League leaders, and Champions elect, Arsenal and Mansfield Town should be incredibly well backed in this early Cup kick off.
There is going to be plenty of excitement around this Fifth Round tie, but Mansfield Town have been slumping in League One and there are only 5 points between them and the bottom four in the Division. The manager will want his team to enjoy themselves on Saturday, but will also have a few concerns about the direction of travel in the prioritised League campaign.
Mansfield Town have won just 1 of the last 10 games in all competitions, although that was the success at Turf Moor in the FA Cup Fourth Round last month. They led twice in the last game played at One Call Stadium, but Wimbledon rallied for a 2-2 draw here. However, Mansfield Town will feel better than the back to back home defeats that had been suffered prior to that result.
Arsenal
It feels like Arsenal have come through a pivotal week in the Premier League having narrowly won a couple of fixtures without being at their best and hearing Manchester City had dropped two key points at home. This now means Arsenal have control of their own destiny, even if it feels like the critics are lining up to let everyone know how they feel about the football being produced by the League leaders.
Mikel Arteta will not be concerned at all about other opinions and instead will be looking to keep Arsenal competitive in all competitions they entered back in August. Wins over Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic have pushed Arsenal into the FA Cup Fifth Round and the draw was almost as kind as could have been hoped.
Arsenal are unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions and they have won 8 times in that run, which means building real momentum and a huge amount of confidence. The Gunners have won 9 of the last 12 games played on their travels in all competitions since losing 2-1 at Villa Park in early December.
You have to expect a number of changes to the starting lineup as Mikel Arteta looks to keep players fresh for the upcoming schedule. The likes of Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus will be expecting to be in the first XI for this Cup tie.
Head to Head
Arsenal beat Mansfield Town 2-0 at home in the FA Cup back in January 1929.
Prediction
Everyone will be expecting Arsenal to cruise through to the FA Cup Quarter Final and they have scored goals in wins over Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic in the last two Rounds.
Hosting will give Mansfield Town fans hopes of springing the upset, but there is a huge gap in quality between these teams.
Nigel Clough's team bridged that for long enough to win at Burnley in the FA Cup Fourth Round, but Mansfield Town needed a wasteful performance from the top flight club.
Even a changed Arsenal team are unlikely to be that generous to a League One team that have been trending in the wrong direction in the third tier of English Football. Those players coming into the starting eleven have shown their worth in the last couple of Rounds and you have to believe the likes of Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze will be looking to remind the manager of what they can offer in the bigger games to come.
Both are expected to start and Madueke in particular has enjoyed his two FA Cup appearances this season.
The winger has a goal and a couple of assists in those previous Cup ties, while Madueke has also afforded himself a Penalty miss.
Eberechi Eze was influential in the Fourth Round win over Wigan Athletic, while you have to expect Gabriel Jesus to push his credentials forward as well.
You have to believe Arsenal will dominate the possession and the shot count in this one and they have shown how good they can be when facing lower League opponents in the last couple of Rounds.
If Eze starts, he looks a big price to have a couple of Shots on Target and would be the first player to back- if Eze is not starting, moving the Pick to Noni Madueke to have two Shots on Target is still an Evens selection and looks the best way to get behind an Arsenal team that should move through with some relative comfort.
The Pick :
Mansfield Town 0-3 Arsenal
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Eberechi Eze Over 1.5 Shots on Target at 2.50 with Bet365 (Sub Play On)Selection becomes Noni Madueke Over 1.5 Shots on Target at 2.00 if Eze is not a starter on Saturday.
