One of the virtues of being a league-focused show is being able to use the FA Cup weekends as a time to reset, take inventory of what’s happening around the league, and focus on topics we normally don’t have time to address. On this weekend’s edition of the show, Kartik Krishnaiyer and myself talk about this weekend’s action, results that saw the holders leave the FA Cup, before shifting to looking at the league. We talk time to talk about the clubs jockeying for Europa League spots and ask which of the league’s top teams will be the fifth of five, before taking a detailed look at the run-ins for Manchester United and Arsenal, seemingly the two remaining contenders in this season’s league.

A programming note: The second segment of this show – on in which Kartik and I focused on Champions League – had to be cut from the show for technical reasons. For those looking for the take homes: we both patted ourselves on the back regardin Spurs but also noted the continued slide of Serie A; we both admitted we undersold Arsenal while noting they seemed too self-congratulatory for taking a lead out of the first half; we both feel Chelsea’s match with Copenhagen will be an important confidence-boosting opportunity, and neither of us expect Manchester United to deviate from their typical, Champions League, opening leg approach: play conservatively and take the tie back to Old Trafford.