This is the stage where the Big Boys from the Premier League enter the fray, and there are therefore several eyecatching fixtures over the course of the weekend, which begins on Friday evening with Liverpool FC v Oldham Athletic at 8pm.
Eyebrows were raised when Manchester City drew Manchester United at the first possible attempt – a match which pits last season’s Semi-Finalists against each other, and also happens to be one of the biggest derbies in football. This season, it is also first v second in the Premier League, so, as Manchester Derbies go, there is a lot more than pride at stake – especially considering the 6-1 drubbing handed to United at Old Trafford in the league this season, which Sir Alex Ferguson described as “the worst of my career”. In so many words: this is a massive game. Kick-off is 13:00 on Sunday.
Another derby which will be worth watching is Birmingham v Wolves of the West Midlands. Birmingham slipped out of the Premier League while Wolverhampton Wanderers narrowly survived last term, but Birmingham showed they are a good cup side by lifting the League Cup in a topsy-turvy season. They’ll be keen to gain local bragging rights in this home fixture – and to prove they still have what it takes to match top-flight opposition. Birmingham v Wolves kicks off at 12:30 on Saturday.
Premier League fans will want to watch out for Newcastle v Blackburn Rovers, another all-Premier clash, which takes place at 15:00 on Saturday, when the bulk of this weekend’s FA Cup 2011/2012 Fixtures are scheduled to take place.
Full fixture information for this weekend is detailed below.
FA Cup 2011/2012 Third Round Fixtures, Friday 6th to Sunday 8th January 2012
All kick-off times are in GMT (CET -1).
Friday 6th January 2012
- Liverpool v Oldham – Kick-Off (GMT) 20:00
Saturday 7th January 2012
- Birmingham v Wolverhampton – Kick-Off (GMT) 12:30
- Dag & Red v Millwall – Kick-Off (GMT) 13:00
- Barnsley v Swansea – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Brighton v Wrexham – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Coventry v Southampton – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Crawley Town v Bristol City – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Derby v Crystal Palace – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Doncaster v Notts County – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Doncaster OFF Sutton Utd – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Everton v Tamworth – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Fleetwood Town v Blackpool – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Fulham v Charlton – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Gillingham v Stoke – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Hull v Ipswich – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Macclesfield v Bolton – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- MK Dons v QPR – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Newcastle v Blackburn – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Norwich v Burnley – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Nott’m Forest v Leicester – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Reading v Stevenage – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Sheffield Utd v Salisbury – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Swindon v Wigan – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Tottenham v Cheltenham – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Watford v Bradford – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- West Brom v Cardiff – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa – Kick-Off (GMT) 17:30
Sunday 8th January 2012
- Man City v Man Utd – Kick-Off (GMT) 13:00
- Chelsea v Portsmouth – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Sheffield Wed v West Ham – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:00
- Peterborough v Sunderland – Kick-Off (GMT) 15:30
