r00fie1
Well-known member
Could be some upsets today and a few "big" clubs left "focusing on the league"....
[c/o BBC Sport]
Predictions [totally subjective with no basis in fact, performance or league position, whatsoever]
Bolton
Huddersfield
Blackpool
Posh
Shrewsbury
Aldershot
Bristol City
Liverpool.
Previews:
V
[c/o BBC Sport]
Predictions [totally subjective with no basis in fact, performance or league position, whatsoever]
Bolton
Huddersfield
Blackpool
Posh
Shrewsbury
Aldershot
Bristol City
Liverpool.
Previews:
VAfter lifting the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup title and subsequently returning to Premier League action with successive wins against Everton and Sheffield United, Manchester City now begin the defence of their FA Cup crown. Championship side Huddersfield Town provide the opposition, with boss Pep Guardiola likely to rotate his troops as a result, especially as he maintains a six-match unbeaten H2H run (W4, D2) with the only home FA Cup tie in that time delivering a huge 5-1 victory.
Despite returning to winning ways of late, there is still room for improvement for City, especially if they’re to get anywhere near repeating their famous treble from last season. The bulk of that work is needed in defence, as Guardiola’s side have kept just one clean sheet across their last ten outings outside of the Club World Cup (W5, D4, L1), though they haven’t lost any of their prior 33 competitive home matches ahead of a return to the Etihad.
Life this season is proving a little more difficult for visiting Huddersfield, who, after losing 4-1 away to Leicester City on New Year's Day, saw their safety buffer to the Championship relegation spots cut to just three points. That result in turn extended their poor form of recording just one win from their past eight outings (D3, L4) which hardly stands as ideal preparation ahead of this short trip over the Pennines.
With 44 goals conceded across their 26 league outings this season, only three teams have a leakier backline than Huddersfield in England’s second tier. On top of that, on eight occasions this campaign across all competitions the Terriers have conceded 3+ goals in a single match, an unwanted record that could be further extended here if they’re not at their very best.
Players to watch: After grabbing a brace of assists last time out, Man City’s Phil Foden has now been directly involved in 17 strikes across all competitions this campaign (G9, A8). Huddersfield defender Michał Helik will primarily be out to keep him quiet, but he’s a threat at the other end too, netting seven goals this season, six of which have come away from home.
Hot stat: Huddersfield have conceded 16 goals across the last five H2Hs.
[https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/llBKxDl7/#/match-summary]
V
Although Shrewsbury aren’t quite the main rivals of Hollywood-backed Welsh side Wrexham, this cross border rivalry remains strong between the two sets of fans, even though they haven’t met since 2008! Despite sitting pretty in League One, Shrewsbury find themselves as the home outsiders here given Wrexham’s flying form at the top end of League Two, with these rivals set to face each other in league action next season should the visitors achieve their targets.
Making their seventh consecutive third round appearance, Shrewsbury have stifled some of England’s best during that time, earning replays against the likes of Liverpool, West Ham, and Wolves in recent years. If that’s not enough to inspire this team to overcome their slight underdog status, then perhaps looking back to the 2003 Shrewsbury side who famously shocked Premier League Everton 2-1 at this very stage will.
The magic of the FA Cup finally returns for Wrexham, who are treated to a derby day clash against Shrewsbury in what is just their third appearance in the third round across the last 11 years. The Welsh club have already enjoyed a couple of famous FA Cup dates under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, defeating Championship Coventry 4-3 away from home before earning a replay against Sheffield United after a stunning 3-3 draw.
Just a month away from the three-year anniversary of their famous takeover, the prestigious owners’ and their Disney camera crew will be hoping for a blockbuster episode. The famous Hollywood finish produced by club legend Mickey Thomas when scoring the first of two late goals to defeat reigning English champions Arsenal 2-1 in the third round back in January 1992 could inspire this current crop, with that game remaining arguably their highest profile victory in club history.
Players to watch: Ryan Bowman has scored three of Shrewsbury’s six FA Cup goals en route to the third round, whilst all three of his competitive scoring appearances this season saw him net the winner. Trying to outdo him will be former Premier League player Steven Fletcher, who scored his first hat-trick since 2007/08 in the New Year’s Day league action for Wrexham.
Hot streak: Each of Shrewsbury’s last eight FA Cup matches have seen both teams score and over 2.5 total goals (W6, L2).
[https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/x8CQAIHm/#/match-summary]
V
A standout tie of the FA Cup third round pits the competition's most successful side and 14-time winners Arsenal against current Premier League (PL) leaders and eight-time winners Liverpool, in a repeat of a fixture that produced a 1-1 draw in league action just before Christmas. These two sides have responded differently to the relentlessness of a PL title race recently, with Arsenal losing ground by losing their last two games, while Liverpool have thrived under pressure by winning their previous two outings.
The Gunners will therefore be happy to see FA Cup action return to the Emirates, as they’ve proven incredibly hard to beat in such a setting having lost just three of their last 49 home FA Cup matches (W36, D10). Manager Mikel Arteta will hope that directly translates to prolonging his side’s good fortune over their visitors in football’s oldest club competition, since Arsenal have won the previous three FA Cup ties between these two.
This Liverpool side may be the biggest threat to their host’s impressive home FA Cup record, as their aim will be to surpass this stage of the competition for what will be a 12th time in their last 13 attempts. Jürgen Klopp will have to mastermind a strategy to do so without his main weapon up front, as he’ll be losing Mohamed Salah to Africa Cup of Nations duties prior to this match.
The Reds therefore have to try and continue their fine form on the road without their Egyptian kingpin, where they’ve won three of their last four away matches (L1). That mirrors their recent record at the Emirates, having won three successive games there without conceding before losing 3-2 in the PL last season.
Players to watch: Two of Arsenal’s three goals that day were scored by Bukayo Saka, which kickstarted a run of him scoring 17 of his last 23 goals at home. As for Liverpool, Diogo Jota has played a part in his team scoring in all their prior four visits to the Emirates, registering six direct goal contributions in that time (G5, A1).
Hot stat: 16 of Liverpool’s last 18 away matches have seen both teams score.
[https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/K8N7uF4l/#/match-summary]
Despite returning to winning ways of late, there is still room for improvement for City, especially if they’re to get anywhere near repeating their famous treble from last season. The bulk of that work is needed in defence, as Guardiola’s side have kept just one clean sheet across their last ten outings outside of the Club World Cup (W5, D4, L1), though they haven’t lost any of their prior 33 competitive home matches ahead of a return to the Etihad.
Life this season is proving a little more difficult for visiting Huddersfield, who, after losing 4-1 away to Leicester City on New Year's Day, saw their safety buffer to the Championship relegation spots cut to just three points. That result in turn extended their poor form of recording just one win from their past eight outings (D3, L4) which hardly stands as ideal preparation ahead of this short trip over the Pennines.
With 44 goals conceded across their 26 league outings this season, only three teams have a leakier backline than Huddersfield in England’s second tier. On top of that, on eight occasions this campaign across all competitions the Terriers have conceded 3+ goals in a single match, an unwanted record that could be further extended here if they’re not at their very best.
Players to watch: After grabbing a brace of assists last time out, Man City’s Phil Foden has now been directly involved in 17 strikes across all competitions this campaign (G9, A8). Huddersfield defender Michał Helik will primarily be out to keep him quiet, but he’s a threat at the other end too, netting seven goals this season, six of which have come away from home.
Hot stat: Huddersfield have conceded 16 goals across the last five H2Hs.
[https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/llBKxDl7/#/match-summary]
VAlthough Shrewsbury aren’t quite the main rivals of Hollywood-backed Welsh side Wrexham, this cross border rivalry remains strong between the two sets of fans, even though they haven’t met since 2008! Despite sitting pretty in League One, Shrewsbury find themselves as the home outsiders here given Wrexham’s flying form at the top end of League Two, with these rivals set to face each other in league action next season should the visitors achieve their targets.
Making their seventh consecutive third round appearance, Shrewsbury have stifled some of England’s best during that time, earning replays against the likes of Liverpool, West Ham, and Wolves in recent years. If that’s not enough to inspire this team to overcome their slight underdog status, then perhaps looking back to the 2003 Shrewsbury side who famously shocked Premier League Everton 2-1 at this very stage will.
The magic of the FA Cup finally returns for Wrexham, who are treated to a derby day clash against Shrewsbury in what is just their third appearance in the third round across the last 11 years. The Welsh club have already enjoyed a couple of famous FA Cup dates under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, defeating Championship Coventry 4-3 away from home before earning a replay against Sheffield United after a stunning 3-3 draw.
Just a month away from the three-year anniversary of their famous takeover, the prestigious owners’ and their Disney camera crew will be hoping for a blockbuster episode. The famous Hollywood finish produced by club legend Mickey Thomas when scoring the first of two late goals to defeat reigning English champions Arsenal 2-1 in the third round back in January 1992 could inspire this current crop, with that game remaining arguably their highest profile victory in club history.
Players to watch: Ryan Bowman has scored three of Shrewsbury’s six FA Cup goals en route to the third round, whilst all three of his competitive scoring appearances this season saw him net the winner. Trying to outdo him will be former Premier League player Steven Fletcher, who scored his first hat-trick since 2007/08 in the New Year’s Day league action for Wrexham.
Hot streak: Each of Shrewsbury’s last eight FA Cup matches have seen both teams score and over 2.5 total goals (W6, L2).
[https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/x8CQAIHm/#/match-summary]
VA standout tie of the FA Cup third round pits the competition's most successful side and 14-time winners Arsenal against current Premier League (PL) leaders and eight-time winners Liverpool, in a repeat of a fixture that produced a 1-1 draw in league action just before Christmas. These two sides have responded differently to the relentlessness of a PL title race recently, with Arsenal losing ground by losing their last two games, while Liverpool have thrived under pressure by winning their previous two outings.
The Gunners will therefore be happy to see FA Cup action return to the Emirates, as they’ve proven incredibly hard to beat in such a setting having lost just three of their last 49 home FA Cup matches (W36, D10). Manager Mikel Arteta will hope that directly translates to prolonging his side’s good fortune over their visitors in football’s oldest club competition, since Arsenal have won the previous three FA Cup ties between these two.
This Liverpool side may be the biggest threat to their host’s impressive home FA Cup record, as their aim will be to surpass this stage of the competition for what will be a 12th time in their last 13 attempts. Jürgen Klopp will have to mastermind a strategy to do so without his main weapon up front, as he’ll be losing Mohamed Salah to Africa Cup of Nations duties prior to this match.
The Reds therefore have to try and continue their fine form on the road without their Egyptian kingpin, where they’ve won three of their last four away matches (L1). That mirrors their recent record at the Emirates, having won three successive games there without conceding before losing 3-2 in the PL last season.
Players to watch: Two of Arsenal’s three goals that day were scored by Bukayo Saka, which kickstarted a run of him scoring 17 of his last 23 goals at home. As for Liverpool, Diogo Jota has played a part in his team scoring in all their prior four visits to the Emirates, registering six direct goal contributions in that time (G5, A1).
Hot stat: 16 of Liverpool’s last 18 away matches have seen both teams score.
[https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/K8N7uF4l/#/match-summary]
Last edited:
