FA Cup Third Round Draw Analysis

Steve Bruce has a chance for some sort of FA Cup revenge

How did the balls go for the viewer and punter in the FA Cup Third Round draw? Alex Johnson looks at the good ties.

The FA Cup third round has historically been one of the big weekends in the English footballing calendar.

Despite the gloss coming off of the competition a bit in recent years, the third round is still a huge deal for those smaller sides looking to have their moment in the spotlight.

The FA Cup third round presents those non-league teams that have battled through qualifying and rounds one and two the chance to pit their wits against some of the biggest teams in England, and potentially carve their name in footballing folklore.

This year's third round draw is one of the best seen in many years, with big games on the cards, matches with great back-stories and the potential for some real upsets.

There is a repeat of last year's final as Arsenal and Hull City will do battle in round three at the Emirates Stadium. Back in May, Arsene Wenger's side came from two goals down to win 3-2 in extra time and end the club's nine-year trophy drought.

After Hull went two goals up within eight minutes, many Tigers fans will have thought their name was on the famous trophy. However, the Gunners dug deep and Aaron Ramsey got the winning goal in extra time.

It is hard to believe that these two teams were the first to be drawn out of the hat, and the draw was met with a large gasp from the watching crowd, but what an opportunity for Hull to gain some modicum of revenge for what happened at Wembley.

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There is a chance to relive some FA Cup folklore as Liverpool travel to face AFC Wimbledon in a rematch from the 1988 final. Wimbledon's shock win over Liverpool at Wembley courtesy of a Lawrie Sanchez header is one of the FA Cup's classic giant-killing stories and what a reward for AFC Wimbledon on reaching the third round for the first time in their 12-year history since reforming when the old Wimbledon controversially relocated to Milton Keynes.

This game is sure to stir up memories and TV broadcasters will dig out all the old footage of what was an inspiring victory for the Crazy Gang.

Sunderland's meeting with Leeds United in round three also brings back nostalgic FA Cup memories. In 1973 Bob Stokoe's Sunderland, then playing in the second division, beat a Leeds side that was dominating English football in one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition.

Ian Porterfield's winning goal and Jim Montgomery's amazing double save always crop up in montages of great FA Cup memories and the two sides will go toe-to-toe at the Stadium of Light in round three.

There is cause for real celebration for some of the non-league sides left in the competition. For three Conference sides there is the opportunity for a fantastic day as they will meet Premier League opposition in round three. Wrexham, Gateshead and Dover face Stoke City, West Brom and Crystal Palace respectively, while it is also a good draw for Southport as they face the Championship's high-fliers of Derby County.

Out of those four, only Dover have a home tie and it will be a bouncing atmosphere at the Crabbie Ground as Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace head for a tricky tie on the South Coast.

Blyth Spartans are the lowest-ranked team in the competition hailing from the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. They earned an army of admirers after beating League Two Hartlepool live on BBC television in round two and have been drawn to face Birmingham City at Croft Park.

While the Blyth staff, players and fans might have dreamt of Premier League opposition, they have a decent chance of an upset against a Birmingham side that have struggled in the Championship. Despite Blyth midfielder Stephen Turnbull admitting the draw was "a bit of an anti-climax" for the team, it should still be a great day for them in front of a likely sold out 4,500 crowd at Croft Park - and they should not be afraid of their more illustrious opposition.

For the three remaining non-league teams that were in the third-round draw, there are decent ties ahead should they be victorious in their second-round replays.

While Aldershot can face Nottingham Forest if they overcome Rochdale and Chester will take on Middlesbrough if they beat Barnsley, things are not quite so clear-cut for Worcester City. They have to face Scunthorpe to make round three and were drawn to face Chesterfield, but the Spireites face an FA charge for fielding an ineligible player in round two so could be replaced by the MK Dons if expelled.

When talking of rewards for winning a replay, there is no potentially bigger prize than for the winner of the game between Accrington and Yeovil. What awaits the victor is the prize plum of Manchester United visiting their ground in round three.

Not only is it the prestige of facing one of the biggest clubs in the world on home turf, but add to that the financial rewards that come with it. Not only from making the third round, but also the gate money from a packed house and potential TV revenue - it could all add up to make a huge difference for the club, easing financial worries for a long time.

There are three all-Premier League ties in round three, as Burnley take on Tottenham at Turf Moor, Leicester welcome Newcastle to the King Power Stadium and Everton clash with West Ham at Goodison Park. It was also a decent draw for the big two in the Premier League title race, Chelsea and Manchester City. Though it remains to be seen how importantly these two will take the FA Cup, Chelsea are likely satisfied with a home tie against Watford, while Man City welcome Sheffield Wednesday to the Etihad.

On round three weekend the big question is always 'where will the upsets be?' While Dover and Blyth could potentially get something out of Palace and Birmingham, there is also the chance of a big shock from whoever faces Manchester United out of Accrington or Yeovil. Travelling to either of those places will be a huge shock for Louis van Gaal's team and, given how they capitulated in the Capital One Cup to MK Dons, they cannot under-perform again.

Elsewhere, despite struggling in the Championship, there is a chance Blackpool could beat Aston Villa. The Premier League side tend to under-perform in the FA Cup and face a Blackpool side now managed by former Birmingham boss Lee Clark.

QPR are another team who traditionally put out second-strong sides in the FA Cup, so could come unstuck against a Sheffield United team who made it all the way to the semi-finals last season.