As the all important Christmas period draws closer, football teams in all divisions will be looking to take advantage of the congested fixtures to finish the year on a high note and put themselves in best possible shape for the second half to the season. However, amidst the festive matches, the FA Cup begins for teams in the Premier League and Championship with the playing of the FA Cup third round.
As always, the third round draw of the FA Cup has thrown up some mouth watering matches but which, in an overall sense has been kind to the Premier League clubs, with only one all Premier League match to be played.
That said, a number of Premier League teams do have tough matches in prospect, none more so than Blackburn who host Championship leaders, QPR. Stoke City have also drawn a tough match, but will have home advantage at least against Championship promotion candidates, Cardiff City, who were finalists at Wembley three years ago.
Undoubtedly the tie of Round Three of the 2010/11FA Cup is the Manchester United v Liverpool encounter at Old Trafford. This will be the one all neutrals will be most interested in and will be a match, that Liverpool, arguably at least, will want to win more than United as it represents a clear cut chance for them to qualify for European football next season.
Defending champions, Chelsea have managed to draw a home game against Roy Keane’s Ipswich, but should have little difficulty in overcoming the Championship strugglers. While Arsenal will not have anything like the same confidence against Leeds United, who it might well be remembered put out Manchester United at this stage last year at Old Trafford, courtesy of a Jermaine Beckford goal. Leeds are a much improved side since then too and the Gunners home form is, to say the least, shaky.
Manchester City have an extremely difficult game away at Leicester in a match with more than a twist of irony attached to it. Neither Roberto Mancini or before him, Mark Hughes, have been able to garner a team worthy of being called champions, despite putting together the most valuable squad in the entire football league. Of course waiting for them at Leicester will be former boss, Sven Goran Eriksson, who many fans feel was unjustly treated by the Eastlands club when they sacked him three years ago. Leicester have improved enormously under Swede’ s guidance and are sure to put up a strong show against the
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