West Ham United partake in
their first domestic cup action of the season, when they face off against fourth tier side Cheltenham United.
Former Rayo Vallecano star Michu has scored 18 goals in 32 appearances in a Swansea shirt this season, helping the club reach
a first domestic cup final — the Capital One Cup final in which they will face League Two Bradford City next Sunday.
With all of the first round of international games now done and dusted, Arsenal can get back to business and our season really starts to hot up, with
our first domestic cup action coming up along with the Champions League group stages and the Premier League to consider.
Not exact matches
In 1967 these two sides met in Lisbon to slug it out for the European
Cup in what would go on to be Celtic's
first triumph away from their
domestic league.
At the end of the 1997 - 98 season, Wenger's
first full season in charge, the team won their
first league title of the Premier League era and added the FA
Cup to their haul soon after, completing a
domestic double.
They were also knocked out of of both
domestic cup competitions at the Etihad by Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, then crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona in the
first knockout round.
Arsene Wenger has often used the
domestic cup competitions to give some up and coming young players their
first taste of Arsenal
first team action, but the Frenchman has generally done this in the early rounds so an FA
cup quarter final against a Premier League team like Watford would not normally see a young Gunner make their debut.
They boast an impressive trophy haul including: 2008 Copa Libertadores Champions — the
first Ecuadorian side to lift the trophy, 2008 Club World
Cup runners - up, 2009 Copa Sudamericana champions, 2009 and 2010 Recopa Sudamericana champions as well as lifting their
domestic league title in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Welsh side Swansea City, meanwhile, will have to play under the English flag if they are victorious in their
first - ever
domestic cup final appearance following a verdict by UEFA.
If we are really talking «serious» trophies (thanks for the FA
Cup, but no top club is define by a small domestic cup), players like Wilshere, Gibbs, and more should be no where near the first te
Cup, but no top club is define by a small
domestic cup), players like Wilshere, Gibbs, and more should be no where near the first te
cup), players like Wilshere, Gibbs, and more should be no where near the
first team.
That is, when they're not trying to capture the title at the LPGA's
first domestic event of the year, the Founders
Cup.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has always used the
domestic cup competitions as a chance to use many of his young and fringe players that are amongst the
first team squad.
But reading between the lines and knowing that Arsene Wenger likes to use the
domestic cup games to give playing opportunities to the fringe players in the squad, it looks like we are going to get our
first look at what the January signing Gabriel Paulist is all about this weekend.
Our form in
domestic cup competitons when we field a
first eleven has been second to none over the past few years.
He won delivered Arsenal's
first league title in seven years in his
first full season in charge, also adding FA
Cup success to make it a
domestic double.
Rodgers led Celtic to a Treble in his
first season at the helm after finishing the
domestic campaign unbeaten and claiming the Premiership, League
Cup and Scottish
Cup along the way.
It's the
first time the showpiece event in the
domestic women's football calendar has been played at the home of football, and a number of England's World
Cup stars will be on show.
Kocaman won the Super Lig in his
first season in charge and helped them reach the 2013 Europa League semifinals, while also winning a pair of
domestic cups.
What is more, they have done all that whilst ending Barcelona's
domestic dominance by winning La Liga for the
first time in five years and lifting the European Super
Cup and Club World
Cup earlier in the season.
All doubts were dispelled as this win made Wenger the
first non-British manager to lift the English title, and his side clinched a
domestic double with an FA
Cup final defeat of Newcastle 13 days later.
At the weekend, Rooney shone in a midfield position during United's FA
Cup semi-final victory over Everton, as he seeks his
first winners» medal in the storied
domestic competition.
Spurs have followed this model and look a them, they're challenging for the title, playing Champions League football, playing well in the
domestic cups, and have a thriving youth system that is producing players that get bed into their
first team.
Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund crushed Bayern Munich 5 - 2 with a hat - trick from Poland's Robert Lewandowski to lift the German
Cup on Saturday and cap a majestic season with the club's
first domestic double success.
Wigan wore this kit for the
first time in a
domestic Cup game against Hartlepool United.
That was the
first time under Arsene Wenger that they had been eliminated at the third round stage and it leaves them now with only the EFL
Cup to play for on the
domestic front.
The other
domestic competition, the FA
Cup, has only just got under way, but Chelsea won their
first game in this season's competition against Watford in the third round.
Featuring sporadically for the
first - team in
domestic cup games will do little in the way of propel him into the picture while remaining in the Under - 23 ranks would stall his current development.
The new black and orange kit, made by Joma, will be
first worn when Valencia take on Malaga this weekend and will also be used in select Champions League (Valencia have progress to the knockout stages of the tournament from their group),
Cup and
domestic league games.
During that time they've won the UEFA
Cup Winners»
Cup and UEFA Super
Cup, the Serie A title, a number of
domestic cups and they reached their
first UEFA
Cup final in 1998.
Another event to look out for is the White Hart Lane trip that is currently being planned to take place in the
first quarter of 2016 once the fixtures for the mid-week Europa and
domestic Cup games have been announced.
The four - time Champions League winner is currently serving a five - match
domestic ban after he shoved referee Ricardo de Burgos during the
first leg of Real Madrid's Spanish Super
Cup triumph over Barcelona.
This included handing him a
first - team squad number (he has the No. 48), as well as giving him opportunities to shine in pre-season and in
domestic cups in 2015/16.
Under the guidance of Leonid Viktorovich Slutsky, CSKA reached the UEFA Champions League quarter - finals for the
first time in 2010, and have lifted the
domestic cup twice.
The Carling
Cup would be the
first stepping - stone in Arsenal's bid for domination of the
domestic and European landscape, and would serve as vindication of the manager's policy of buying young, and developing from within.
Both were missed by the officials, and the game remained goalless until Robben found the target in the second half of extra-time, while Thomas Muller struck with the final kick of the game to secure a
domestic league and
cup double for Guardiola in his
first season.
Zorya Luhans is a Ukranian side who finished fourth in their
domestic league last season and making their very
first appearance in the European
cup competitions.
Their
domestic first class is competitive (which is to say, it is like a free
cup of coffee).