The FA Cup third round proper kicks off January 8th with Wolverhampton Wanderers taking on Crystal Palace and Aston Villa hosting Liverpool. If both those matches go as I expect, they will need penalty shootouts to resolve. In local time, fans in England would be watching until close to 11 at night.
Or will they? Many clubs are seeing outbreaks of COVID-19 throughout England. Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training facility was shuttered when such an outbreak spread through their ranks. Furthermore, they won’t put out the same XI who decimated Friday’s visitors 7-2 in the Premier League earlier this season. Instead, they’ll have to field youth players. This swayed one of my picks as I was writing this.
With any luck, Aston Villa and Liverpool get to play. We can’t say the same of Southampton against Shrewsbury Town, as the Shrews suffered their own outbreak and had to postpone. That’s if they can actually play, with the FA set to rule next week on that matter.
This is an uncertain time for Britain in general, and it just so coincides with one of the biggest footballing weekends of the year. You see, in the FA Cup third round, all 44 Premier League and EFL Championship teams enter the fray. Because these clubs have more resources, expect COVID-19 testing to increase for the duration of the competition. Again, in some cases, teams may agree to postpone matches or,in extreme circumstances, forfeit their place in the Cup; just ask Notts County, who won the Cup in 1894.
For most teams, though, the show must go on. Since the FA Cup third round consists of 32 ties (pairings), I decided to break up my picks into multiple articles. Otherwise, they would be cumbersome to digest.
Friday’s Matches
Aston Villa vs Liverpool (1:45 PM US Central Time)
This was supposed to be the glamour tie of the Friday pair before the COVID outbreak at Villa. When I originally made my pick, I thought it would be Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool. When the outbreak hit, I revised it. I don’t see Jurgen Klopp’s charges getting through without a penalty shootout, as he will complain about how the Cup needlessly congests the schedule. That said, the Reds will avail themselves of the situation.
Aston Villa 2-2 Liverpool (Liverpool on penalties)
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Crystal Palace (same time)
Both of these teams have 22 points in the Premier League, with Wolves enjoying a slightly better goal difference to lead the Eagles. Again, this will go the distance, but this time, home advantage will matter.
