THE FA CUP Third Round draw provided a clear tie of the round with Premier League leaders Arsenal taking on North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates.
This cracking match will be screened live by ITV on Saturday at 5.15pm with Arsene Wenger's Gunners going in search of a first trophy since 2005 when they won the Cup in Cardiff by beating Manchester United on penalties.
Spurs have to go back even further for their last FA Cup triumph. It came in 1991, and they even beat Arsenal 3-1 on the way in a fabulous Wembley semi, but they have not even made a single appearance in an FA Cup Final since.
Indeed, Arsenal have won both of the ties staged since then, both of which were also semi finals, in 1993 and 2001 - and Wenger's men will start favourites for this contest too.
Nevertheless, new Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood has made an encouraging start, taking 10 points out of 12 over the festive period - though, remarkably, his appointment means that Spurs have now had 11 permanent managers since Wenger arrived in England in October 1996.
Will the Frenchman deal Sherwood his first blow on Saturday? Whatever happens, it promises to be an thrilling new chapter in the long-standing North London rivalry, anyway.
In the other television matches, a trio top-half Championship sides host Premier League opponents as the broadcasters go in search of an upset.
Blackburn Rovers host 2011 Cup winners Manchester City in the early Saturday match at 12.45pm on BT, while fourth-placed Derby County take on seven-time winners Chelsea at 2.15pm on Sunday, also on BT.
But it is the Rams' big East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest who probably have the biggest chance of making the headlines.
Forest take on struggling West Ham United at midday on Sunday, in a match to be shown live on ITV - and so perilous is the Hammers' position in the Premier League that manager Sam Allardyce has said he is going to abandon the cups, including the League Cup semi final next week.
If excitement beckons at the City Ground then, very few neutral observers will understand quite why Manchester United v Swansea was one of the ties picked for the telly - other than the obvious waffle about attracting viewing figures and advertisers.
Incredibly, the decision by BT now makes it 42 consecutive FA Cup matches on the box for the Red Devils.
And, on this occasion, it also means there is no room on the television for the three remaining non-league teams, each of whom will be representing the Conference Premier.
In fairness to the television executives, none of those sides - Kidderminster Harriers, Macclesfield Town and Grimsby Town - exactly drew a plum tie, unfortunately.
Nevertheless, with all of them being drawn at home, all three will fancy their chances of causing an upset and progressing even further.
Also, if anything, the traditional Saturday 3pm kick-offs should ensure a raucous winter afternoon atmosphere at Aggborough, Moss Rose, and by the sea at Blundell Park.
Peterborough United, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town, respectively, will therefore have to be on their guard.
At the other end of the scale, outside of the television games, there are three other all-Premier League ties, featuring several clubs for whom a Cup run would be an ideal distraction from their struggles in the top flight.
Managerless West Bromwich Albion take on Tony Pulis's Crystal Palace at the Hawthorns while Norwich City welcome Fulham to Carrow Road.
The match to pique the most interest, though, is surely Cardiff City's visit to St James Park to take on Newcastle United under newly-appointed manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.
Bluebirds fans will be hoping the Norwegian ends weeks of turmoil under unpredictable Malaysian owner Vincent Tan by upsetting the odds against the Magpies.
It should be a tough ask, however. Newcastle, who have no concerns about this year about their own Premier League place, are due a decent FA Cup run, having not played outside of January in the competition since 2006.
Recent defeats have even come against the likes of Stevenage and Brighton & Hove Albion (twice), and it is high time that manager Alan Pardew improved on this particular record.
Tyne-Wear rivals Sunderland were also drawn at home, and hence play on Sunday at 2pm against Carlisle United.
The Cumbrians, who will be hopeful of an upset against the Premier League's bottom club, travel the relatively short distance of 70miles eastwards along the A69.
Meanwhile, the third North East club Middlesbrough have also got a home tie against a fairly nearby club in Hull City who will travel 112 miles up the coast.
For anyone seeking a spicy local match elsewhere, look no further than Rochdale v Leeds United at Spotland.
Only 33 miles separate the two clubs and this promises to be an exciting War of the Roses fight, and one in which Leeds boss Brian McDermott will have to be wary.
In the Midlands, Stoke City host Championship leaders Leicester City from just 63 miles away, with neither side able to boast about having won the competition.
The Potters were recent runners-up to Man City in 2011 while Leicester hold the unenviable record of the most finals appearances, four, without having ever succeeded.
Finally, in Lancashire, two clubs from the Championship - Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool - will stage a repeat of one of the most famous Wembley matches of all time.
In 1953, the Seasiders beat the Trotters 4-3 in what has been christened the Matthews Final, after Sir Stanley Matthews, whose exhilarating wing play prompted a comeback from 3-1 down.
Notably, it also remains the only Wembley FA Cup Final to feature a hat-trick, scored by Blackpool's Stan Mortensen with the winner coming from Bill Perry in stoppage time.
Another few ties like that this weekend will ensure the magic of the Cup keeps on bubbling for some time yet, regardless of what miserable Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert believes.
A full run-down of the Third Round fixtures can be found below:
FA CUP THIRD ROUND
| Saturday 4 Jan | |||||
| 17:15 (ITV) | ARSENAL | 2-0 | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | ||
| 15:00 | ASTON VILLA | 1-2 | SHEFFIELD UNITED | ||
| 15:00 | BARNSLEY | 1-2 | COVENTRY CITY | ||
| 12:45 (BT) | BLACKBURN ROVERS | 1-1 | MANCHESTER CITY | ||
| 15:00 | BOLTON WANDERERS | 2-1 | BLACKPOOL | ||
| - | BOURNEMOUTH | P-P | BURTON ALBION | ||
| 15:00 | BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION | 1-0 | READING | ||
| 15:00 | BRISTOL CITY | 1-1 | WATFORD | ||
| - | CHARLTON ATHLETIC | P-P | OXFORD UNITED | ||
| 15:00 | DONCASTER ROVERS | 2-3 | STEVENAGE | ||
| 15:00 | EVERTON | 4-0 | QUEENS PARK RANGERS | ||
| 15:00 | GRIMSBY TOWN | 2-3 | HUDDERSFIELD TOWN | ||
| 15:00 | IPSWICH TOWN | 1-1 | PRESTON NORTH END | ||
| 15:00 | KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS | 0-0 | PETERBOROUGH UNITED | ||
| 15:00 | MACCLESFIELD TOWN | 1-1 | SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY | ||
| 15:00 | MIDDLESBROUGH | 0-2 | HULL CITY | ||
| 15:00 | NEWCASTLE UNITED | 1-2 | CARDIFF CITY | ||
| 15:00 | NORWICH CITY | 1-1 | FULHAM | ||
| 15:00 | ROCHDALE | 2-0 | LEEDS UNITED | ||
| 15:00 | SOUTHAMPTON | 4-3 | BURNLEY | ||
| 15:00 | SOUTHEND UNITED | 4-1 | MILLWALL | ||
| 15:00 | STOKE CITY | 2-1 | LEICESTER CITY | ||
| 15:00 | WEST BROMWICH ALBION | 0-2 | CRYSTAL PALACE | ||
| 15:00 | WIGAN ATHLETIC | 3-3 | MILTON KEYNES DONS | ||
| 15:00 | YEOVIL TOWN | 4-0 | LEYTON ORIENT | ||
| Sunday 5 Jan | |||||
| 14:15 (BT) | DERBY COUNTY | 0-2 | CHELSEA | ||
| 15:00 | LIVERPOOL | 2-0 | OLDHAM ATHLETIC | ||
| 16:30 (BT) | MANCHESTER UNITED | 1-2 | SWANSEA CITY | ||
| 12:00 (ITV) | NOTTINGHAM FOREST | 5-0 | WEST HAM UNITED | ||
| 15:00 | PORT VALE | 2-2 | PLYMOUTH ARGYLE | ||
| 14:00 | SUNDERLAND | 3-1 | CARLISLE UNITED | ||
| Tuesday 14 Jan | |||||
| 19:45 | BOURNEMOUTH | 4-1 | BURTON ALBION | ||
| 19:45 | BIRMINGHAM CITY | 3-0 | BRISTOL ROVERS | ||
| 19:45 | CHARLTON ATHLETIC | 2-2 | OXFORD UNITED | ||
| REPLAYS | |||||
| Tuesday 14 Jan | |||||
| 19:45 (BT) | FULHAM | 3-0 | NORWICH CITY | ||
| 20:10 (ITV) | MANCHESTER CITY | 5-0 | BLACKBURN ROVERS | 15 Jan | |
| 19:45 | MILTON KEYNES DONS | 1-3 | WIGAN ATHLETIC | AET | |
| 19:45 | PETERBOROUGH UNITED | 2-3 | KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS | ||
| 19:45 | PLYMOUTH ARGYLE | 2-3 | PORT VALE | ||
| 19:45 | PRESTON NORTH END | 3-2 | IPSWICH TOWN | ||
| 19:45 | SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY | 4-1 | MACCLESFIELD TOWN | ||
| 19:45 | WATFORD | 2-0 | BRISTOL CITY | ||
| Tuesday 21 Jan | |||||
| 19:45 | OXFORD UNITED | 0-3 | CHARLTON ATHLETIC |
FA CUP FOURTH ROUND
| Friday 24 Jan | |||||
| 19:45 (BT) | ARSENAL | 4-0 | COVENTRY CITY | ||
| 20:00 | NOTTINGHAM FOREST | 0-0 | PRESTON NORTH END | ||
| Saturday 25 Jan | |||||
| 15:00 | BIRMINGHAM CITY | 1-2 | SWANSEA CITY | ||
| 15:00 | BOLTON WANDERERS | 0-1 | CARDIFF CITY | ||
| 12:45 (ITV) | BOURNEMOUTH | 0-2 | LIVERPOOL | ||
| 15:00 | HUDDERSFIELD TOWN | 0-1 | CHARLTON ATHLETIC | ||
| 15:00 | MANCHESTER CITY | 4-2 | WATFORD | ||
| 15:00 | PORT VALE | 1-3 | BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION | ||
| 15:00 | ROCHDALE | 1-2 | SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY | ||
| 15:00 | SOUTHAMPTON | 2-0 | YEOVIL TOWN | ||
| 15:00 | SOUTHEND UNITED | 0-2 | HULL CITY | ||
| 17:30 (BT) | STEVENAGE | 0-4 | EVERTON | ||
| 15:00 | SUNDERLAND | 1-0 | KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS | ||
| 15:00 | WIGAN ATHLETIC | 2-1 | CRYSTAL PALACE | ||
| Sunday 26 Jan | |||||
| 13:00 (BT) | SHEFFIELD UNITED | 1-1 | FULHAM | ||
| 15:30 (ITV) | CHELSEA | 1-0 | STOKE CITY |
Fifth Round Draw Ties to be played 15-16 February
Manchester City v Chelsea
Sheffield United or Fulham v Nottingham Forest or Preston North End
Arsenal v Liverpool
Brighton & Hove Albion v Hull City
Cardiff City v Wigan Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday v Charlton Athletic
Sunderland v Southampton
Everton v Swansea City
No comments:
Post a Comment