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The festive period may be over for the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean that teams will get a rest. Bring on the magic of the FA Cup, which kicked off its third round on Friday and ends Monday with Oxford United against the Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Struggling in league play, Jurgen Klopp fielded a strong XI for Liverpool against Wolves, but a 2-2 draw on Saturday forces a replay. Even Paul Mullin and Wrexham got in on the fun with a shock cupset over Coventry City as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s club lives on to play in the next round of the FA Cup.
Let’s take a look at the schedule and some key storylines for the third round — and while you’re at it, sign up for our new newsletter covering the beautiful game in all its glory, including updates three times a week, here.
FA Cup third round schedule
(All times U.S./Eastern)
Friday, Jan. 6Manchester United 3, Everton 1
Saturday, Jan. 7Preston North End 3, Huddersfield Town 1Reading 2, Watford 0Tottenham 1, Portsmouth 0Gillingham 0, Leicester City 1Forest Green Rovers vs. Birmingham City — PostponedCrystal Palace 1, Southampton 2Hull City 0, Fulham 2Middlesbrough 1, Brighton 5Fleetwood Town 2, QPR 1Ipswich Town 4, Rotherham 1Bournemouth 2, Burnley 4Blackpool 4, Nottingham Forest 1Chesterfield 3, West Brom 3 — Replay TBAMillwall 0, Sheffield United 2Boreham Wood 1, Accrington Stanley 1 — Replay TBAShrewsbury Town 1, Sunderland 2Brentford 0, West Ham 1Coventry City 3, Wrexham 4Luton Town 1, Wigan 1 — Replay TBAGrimsby Town 1, Burton Albion 0Sheffield Wednesday 2, Newcastle 1Liverpool 2, Wolves 2 — Replay TBA
Sunday, Jan. 8Bristol City vs. Swansea City, 7:30 a.m.Derby County vs. Barnsley, 7:30 a.m.Cardiff City vs. Leeds United, 9 a.m.Stockport vs. Walsall, 9 a.m.Norwich City vs. Blackburn Rovers, 9 a.m.Hartlepool vs. Stoke City, 9 a.m.Aston Villa vs. Stevange, 11:30 a.m.Manchester City vs. Chelsea, 11:30 a.m.
Monday, Jan. 9Oxford United vs. Arsenal, 3 p.m.
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City-Chelsea rematch set
Chelsea and Manchester City just played a drab Premier League fixture on Thursday — a 1-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side — and they’re back at it Saturday in the FA Cup. One of the fun quirks of cup schedule is that teams can play each other on short turnaround. Both of these teams have expectations of a deep run, possibly to the final of the competition. But only one will be able to proceed. This is a match that could be a tad more open than their Premier League fixture with a few reserves getting playing time.
Americans abound
It is getting harder to track American players overseas by the day due to the sheer number of representatives. We saw plenty of U.S. representation on Saturday and on Sunday, Josh Sargent’s Norwich City and new coach David Wagner will host Blackburn Rovers.