The turn of a new year is marked by FA Cup third-round action in England, the country’s most historic cup competition set to welcome all 20 Premier League teams for a jam-packed weekend of matches beginning Friday.
A majority of the 20 Premier League clubs will be facing off against lower league opposition, though not all cup ties are created equal. New Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior will take charge of his first game against Charlton Athletic, a mismatch that could allow the 41-year-old to settle into his new role ahead of a busy stretch of fixtures. Nottingham Forest’s trip to Wrexham, though, does not exactly inspire comparisons to David and Goliath — a battle between a relegation contender in one division and a promotion hopeful in the next league down means chatter of an upset is hard to avoid.
Some Premier League clubs, though, will be facing off against each other. The list includes Aston Villa’s visit to Tottenham Hotspur, a faceoff between two teams in very different form, and Brighton and Hove Albion’s trip to Manchester United as the Red Devils settle into life without recently fired manager Ruben Amorim.
Here’s what to keep an eye on ahead of a busy weekend in England.
FA Cup third round TV schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, Jan. 9
MK Dons vs. Oxford United, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Preston North End vs. Wigan Athletic, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wrexham vs. Nottingham Forest, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Port Vale vs. Fleetwood Town, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Jan. 10
Macclesfield Town vs. Crystal Palace, 7:15 a.m. (ESPN+)
Everton vs. Sunderland, 7:15 a.m. (ESPN2)
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Shrewsbury Town, 7:15 a.m. (ESPN+)
Cheltenham Town vs. Leicester City, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN+)
Doncaster Rovers vs. Southampton, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Stoke City vs. Coventry City, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Sheffield Wednesday vs. Brentford, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Newcastle United vs. Bournemouth, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Fulham vs. Middlesbrough, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Ipswich Town vs. Blackpool, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Manchester City vs. Exeter City, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Burnley vs. Millwall, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Boreham Wood vs. Burton Albion, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Salford City vs. Swindon Town, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Cambridge United vs. Birmingham City, 12:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Aston Villa, 12:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
Grimsby Town vs. Weston-super-Mare, 12:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
Bristol City vs. Watford, 12:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
Charlton Athletic vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, Jan. 11
Derby County vs. Leeds United, 7 a.m. (ESPN+)
Portsmouth vs. Arsenal, 9 a.m. (ESPN2)
Hull City vs. Blackburn Rovers, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Swansea vs. West Bromwich Albion, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Norwich City vs. Walsall, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
West Ham United vs. Queens Park Rangers, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Sheffield United vs. Mansfield Town, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Manchester United vs. Brighton and Hove Albion, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
Monday, Jan. 12
Liverpool vs. Barnsley, 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)
Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea debut
Days after officially joining Chelsea on a five-and-a-half year deal, Liam Rosenior will make his touchline debut for the Blues with an FA Cup tie at Charlton Athletic on Saturday. It is currently unclear what exactly to expect, though – BlueCo, the consortium that owns both Chelsea and Rosenior’s ex-club Strasbourg, have put a lot of stock in the England native and from a stylistic standpoint, his philosophy is not a great departure from Enzo Maresca’s. Rosenior is inheriting a team that has been inconsistent at times this season, currently sitting eighth in the Premier League but in the midst of a top four race in which fourth place Liverpool and 10th place Sunderland are separated by just four points. A clash against Charlton, who currently sit 19th in the Championship, offers a favorable start for Rosenior before an important batch of matches — his first weeks in the most high-profile job of his managerial career include the two-legged EFL Cup semifinal against Arsenal, as well as final league phase matches in the UEFA Champions League against Pafos and Napoli.
A tale of two contrasting teams
FA Cup third round action includes a couple of matchups between Premier League sides, including Aston Villa’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Villa have just one loss in their last 16 matches and will be favored in this tie, which comes in the midst of a strong league campaign that currently sees them in third place and equal on points with title contender Manchester City. Spurs, meanwhile, are one of several Premier League teams in the midst of a rocky period, but unlike many of the others, have chosen to stick by manager Thomas Frank. They have just one win in their last six, a signal that Frank has yet to properly instill an identity halfway through his first season in charge – and is not a good sign ahead of what could be one of the more evenly-contested FA Cup ties of the third round.
Upset watch in Wales?
Nottingham Forest will be the favorites at Wrexham in one of the weekend’s first games on Friday but if recent form means anything, the Premier League side may be at risk of an early exit in the FA Cup. Forest have just one win in their last five and are much closer to the relegation race than they were a year ago, when they finished high enough to qualify for European competition, though the seven point cushion between them and 18th place West Ham may be enough to assuage fears of dropping down a division for the time being. Wrexham, meanwhile, are finding their footing in the Championship and have won four in a row, bringing them up to ninth in the league and one point outside of a promotion playoff spot. An upset might be a big ask for the Wales-based club but the opportunity is certainly ripe, especially for a Forest team that might depiroitize the FA Cup after a busy festive period in the Premier League and ahead of their final matches in the Europa League’s league phase.
