Four from Premier League lose in day of Cup surprises

Sunderland, West Brom, Blackpool and Newcastle fall with Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham are all in action today.

Four Premier League teams fell in the third round of the FA Cup yesterday, with the majority of the top division's biggest teams yet to play their ties.

Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham are all in action today, while Arsenal had a scare, drawing 1-1 at home to Leeds United.

But football's romantics were reminded that Cup upsets can still happen, with Sunderland, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool all losing to lower-league opposition while Wolverhampton Wanderers and Stoke City were taken to replays by Championship sides Doncaster Rovers and Cardiff City.

Perhaps the biggest shocks were Newcastle's 3-1 away defeat by Stevenage Borough, who joined League Two, the fourth tier of English football, for the first time this season, and Sunderland's 2-1 home defeat to Notts County, who are 16th in League One.

West Brom's elimination came after the Reading striker Shane Long netted before the Baggies had Jonas Olsson sent off for a second bookable offense.

Lee Barnard and Guly do Prado got the goals for Southampton that sent a weakened Blackpool side out of the competition with a 2-0 win.

Meanwhile, Neil Warnock, manager of Queens Park Rangers, who are top of the Championship, launched a personal attack on Blackburn's El-Hadji Diouf after claiming the Senegal international abused Jamie Mackie while he lay on the pitch with a broken leg.

Mackie sustained a double fracture in a 50-50 clash with Gael Givet which saw both players carried off on stretchers in Blackburn's 1-0 victory at Ewood Park.

Warnock alleged that Diouf, no stranger to controversy during his career in England, had taunted his injured player despite the seriousness of the injury being apparent.

"He's broken both bones, his tibia and his fibula, and he's gone to hospital but will travel home with us," Warnock said.

"The lads were furious with El- Hadji Diouf; he (Mackie) had broken his leg and he is calling him all sorts on the pitch. There was no need to put the finger up and call him a disgrace and even the Blackburn people were embarrassed.

"For many years I have thought he [Diouf] was the gutter type. I was going to call him a sewer rat but that might be insulting to sewer rats.

"I think he is the lowest of the low and I can't see him being at Blackburn much longer because I can't see Steve Kean (Blackburn's manager) putting up with someone like that in the dressing room. I think he will be the first to go and good riddance. I hope he goes abroad because I won't miss watching him. He is a nasty little person."

No non-league teams made it through to the fourth round. Hereford United are the lowest-ranked club left in the competition. They are bottom of League Two, the fourth tier, but won a 4-3 thriller at Lincoln City, one place above them in the league, to progress.

Torquay United, 1-0 winners against Carlisle, and Burton Albion, who scored in the last minute to beat Championship Middlesbrough, are the other League Two survivors.

The draw for the fourth round will be made at 7.45pm today.

* With agencies