FA Cup wrap: Stoke follows Villa through exit door
Stoke City's miserable run of form continued in the FA Cup 3rd Round as Coventry City dumped Mark Hughes's men out of the competition.
Mark Hughes's Stoke City future hangs in the balance after the Potters crashed out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 third-round defeat at the hands of fourth-tier Coventry City.
A break from Premier League problems — Stoke sits third bottom after a disappointing festive period — failed to materialise at Ricoh Arena as Hughes's men were beaten by a Jack Grimmer screamer.
Stoke's exit was the biggest upset with Bournemouth earning a replay with Wigan Athletic thanks to Steve Cook's stoppage-time equaliser ensuring a 2-2 draw at Vitality Stadium.
After trailing at half-time against Burnley, Manchester City had Sergio Aguero to thank for its 4-1 home victory, while 10-man Swansea City will need a replay to get past Wolverhampton Wanderers.
There were no such problems for Watford, Huddersfield Town, West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Southampton, though, as they all booked fourth-round spots.
But for Mark Hughes, the news is less happy.
He was already under pressure at the Potters after one league win in seven, and was given no reprieve in the Cup as Stoke fell to the in-form Coventry.
Jordan Willis grabbed the first with his first of the season in all competitions, but after Hughes's half-time team talk Charlie Adam appeared to spark a revival.
His penalty just before the hour restored parity, but it was the League Two side that got the winner, Grimmer unleashing a superb strike beyond Jack Butland.
Jamie Vardy's return to Fleetwood Town lacked the fairytale ending as he missed the clash through injury, and without him Leicester City could only draw 0-0.
Claude Puel's side failed to have a shot on target in the 90 minutes, leaving Fleetwood goalkeeper Chris Neal with a clean sheet and a year's supply of pizza from a club sponsor for keeping the Foxes out.
A replay is the last thing Leicester needed, but it could have been a lot worse had Ashley Hunter's late deflected strike not struck the woodwork.
Aston Villa's recent revival under Steve Bruce, which included a 5-0 thrashing of Bristol City, came to a juddering halt as it was beaten 3-1 at home by Peterborough United.
Fellow promotion candidate Cardiff City was also frustrated as Mansfield Town earned a replay after a 0-0 stalemate, while Sunderland's problems continued as goals from Rudy Gestede and Martin Braithwaite gave Middlesbrough a 2-0 win.
Meanwhile, MK Dons eliminated Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road and Yeovil Town, fourth bottom in League Two, shocked Bradford City.
