ST's weekend football debrief Underdogs can go all the way in open FA Cup

The fifth round of the FA Cup saw the exit of heavy hitters, in Manchester United and Newcastle United, while Manchester City had to come from behind to overcome Plymouth Argyle.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Here are three key talking points.

UNFANCIED SIDES ADD TO BUZZ

Despite the dreary start to this season's FA Cup, we are now set for what could be one of the most memorable editions yet.

After United's demise at the hands of Fulham, City are the only team from the English Premier League's Big Six left, with the earlier exits of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

It will be interesting to see if the FA Cup final on May 17 could deliver another shock outcome since 2013 when Wigan Athletic defeated City 1-0 to claim the trophy for the first time in their history, and in the same season that they were relegated.

The other teams besides City are not considered big names, although Nottingham Forest, who faced Ipswich Town on March 3 to decide the last of the quarter-finalists, are currently third in the EPL standings. The result of that match was not available at press time.