City and United get drawn together in the third round of the FA Cup

Manchester City will start the defence of their FA Cup title with a third round home game against city rivals Manchester United.

With the two Manchester teams competing for the Premier League title they will now face one another in FA Cup.

I don’t think there could have been a higher profile game in the third round than the Premier League’s top two meeting. It promises to be a superb spectacle, as always.

Dream

Blue Square Bet Premier side Tamworth will have the chance to visit Premier League side Everton. The Tamworth players will be relishing the trip to Merseyside to face top flight opposition. It’s the sort of tie that non-league sides dream of when they enter the competition.

Another non-league club Chelmsford City could have the chance to book a date with Premier League Bolton Wanderers if the non-leaguers can get past Macclesfield in a replay.

Derbies

There will also be a few local derbies in the third round. Birmingham will play host to Midlands rivals Wolves at St Andrews. The games between the two teams are usually pretty feisty. Two other Midlands sides meet as Championship side Nottingham Forest host Leicester. The home side is struggling in the second tier of English football.

Premier

There will be an all Premier League tie between Newcastle and Blackburn Rovers at the Sports Direct Arena (formerly St James Park). The Magpies good start to the season has stuttered in recent weeks but they will expected to beat struggling Blackburn.

Tricky

Arsenal face a tricky home tie with Championship side Leeds at the Emirates Stadium. Leeds are right in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League and a few seasons ago caused a shock at Old Trafford knocking Manchester United out of the competition.

Stoke also have a tricky tie as they travel to Gillingham. Stoke boss Tony Pulis is a former-boss of the Gills and will know that the League Two outfit won’t make it easy for the Potters.

Upset

Premier League Chelsea will be looking to avoid a shock defeat by Championship crisis club Portsmouth. The two played each other in the 2010 FA Cup final, with Chelsea coming out on top on that occasion.

Premier League Aston Villa have to visit League Two Bristol Rovers in what could be the banana skin of a tie. The Pirates are struggling in League Two but lower league teams tend to raise their game against bigger teams. This could be the shock of the third round.

Straightforward

Elsewhere Tottenham have what looks like a straightforward tie against Cheltenham. Tottenham are flying high in the Premier League at the moment and I suspect that Spurs boss Harry Redknapp may put out a slightly weakened side.

The League Two side will be hoping to pull off a shock victory at White Hart Lane. The Premier League side should however have enough to beat their lower league visitors.

Liverpool will face either League One Oldham or League Two Southend. Either way Kenny Dalglish’s side will be expected to advance with ease at Anfield. Dalglish like Harry Redknapp may decide to field a weakened team.

Romance

The FA Cup is still full of romance, no matter how people try to decry it. There is still a touch of magic left in the competition. The thought of small teams becoming giant killers and unknown players and teams becoming heroes.

The FA Cup is one of longest running competitions in the history of the game. Nobody can tell me that the FA Cup doesn’t matter anymore.

Who will win this seasons FA Cup?