FA Cup Draw ~ Manchester giants square up in 3rd-round clash

zocoss SG

Up for grabs: The FA Cup

The FA Cup is destined to claim one major casualty after the giants of Manchester were paired on Sunday.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who is already finding the noisy neighbours a handful in the Barclays Premier League, takes his team to the Etihad Stadium in the tie of the third round.

United will not need reminding that the last time they played City they were thrashed 6-1. Roberto Mancini’s side also won last season’s Cup semi-final at Wembley 1-0 thanks to a Yaya Toure goal.

Delighted United defender Rio Ferdinand tweeted: ‘Third round FA Cup game versus Man City. Great game to kick off this year’s FA Cup, can’t wait.’

Blackburn travel to Newcastle in the other all top-flight tie.

Andre Villas-Boas will be introduced to the FA Cup in a repeat of the 2010 final as Chelsea entertain Portsmouth, and Arsenal and Leeds play again. They met at this stage 12 months ago.

Aston Villa head to Bristol Rovers, whose boss Paul Buckle said: ‘The Villa game will be a great day for the club. I’ve never been drawn against a Premier League side in the FA Cup before.’

Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury

Nottingham Forest v Leicester City

Man City v Man United

Dagenham/Walsall v Millwall

Crawley v Bristol City

Doncaster v Notts County

Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa

Tottenham v Cheltenham Town

Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham

Milton Keynes Dons v QPR

Hull v Ipswich

Coventry v Southampton

Brighton v Wrexham

Fulham v Charlton

Birmingham v Wolves

Norwich v Burnley

Arsenal v Leeds

Derby v Crystal Palace

Fleetwood/Yeovil v Blackpool

Swindon v Wigan

Barnsley v Swansea

Chelmsford/Macclesfield v Bolton

Newcastle v Blackburn

Everton v Tamworth

Sheffield Utd v Salisbury/Grimsby

Liverpool v Southend/Oldham

Gillingham v Stoke

Chelsea v Portsmouth

Watford v Bradford

Peterborough v Sunderland

West Bromwich v Cardiff

Reading v Stevenage

*Ties to be played on weekend of January 7/8

Just_do_it_lah SG

City Crunch Time

. Seems like 2012 is a tough year for them....

zocoss SG

Liverpool are the big beneficiary cos City will now have to adjust their squad because they suddenly have United parachute in between their important games... They probably thought they could give their main players some rest in between, but now they got 3 big games in 8 days...

It's reallying looking like Chelsea all over again for Pool... Chelsea suddenly have an important cup match in between their meeting... Only difference is, Chelsea had to travel to Germany while City plays all their matches at home...

Looks like Pool destine to win the Carling cup cos while their opponents all have difficult matches before they play them, Pool can just rest and relax...

Just_do_it_lah SG

Liverpool have to play City 3x in 22 days.

tweety74 SG

Looks like Pool destine to win the Carling cup cos while their opponents all have difficult matches before they play them, Pool can just rest and relax...

You made it sound as if as it is a forgone conclusion that Liverpool will win the Carling Cup just because their opponents have difficult games elsewhere...Dun underestimate the strength of Man City. They can easily play two different strong teams if they want to. If Liverpool indeed win the Carling Cup (and this is a big IF), then it is down to their capability more than anything else.

zocoss SG

We cannot deny if City don't have the important distractions, they will send more time in their preparation and able to put out their best 11 when they meet. However, due to the situation that is now, they can't put out say, a very weak side in between matches as they might if they were to meet a 3rd, or 2nd division side... and this would have allowed a full 8 days of rest instead of a 3 to 4 now.

And even if they played the same players, their physical fitness will not be as good either. So either way, it isn't helpful.

And there is no such thing as 2 strong teams in a squad as there will always be the first 11, then the rest. Just like there is no 2 Joe Hart, no 2 Kompany and no 2 Aguero. And also even when there is 2 Toure, one is clearly more important than the other... One is indispensable while the other they didn't need in their rise to the top.

Medicated Oil SG

Man City have depth in their reserves.

So, they can play their reserved team for some of the game.

It depend on which cup they want to forgo.

If they can thrash Liverpool during the 1st leg of League Cup, they can rest during the 2nd leg.

But, injury to both Liverpool and Man City will play an important role for congested fixture.

The players that both teams buy on Jan 2012 will also make a difference.

Mancini should be more keen on the BPL title and maintain their unbeaten record.

They have already scored so many goals that it is a BIG waste not to win the title.

zocoss SG

Indeed... Looking at the fixture of City's, I think they may consider to forego the Carling Cup and just hope for the best outcome cos the FA cup against United is not just a 4th round reward, there is real pride at stake too as City is always trying to live up to United's status...

Also more importantly, losing could shake their confidence for the 2nd half of the league season... And look at their match coming up against Spurs 3 days before they meet Pool in the 2nd leg as well... I am quite sure the City machine will crack up if they try to go with their best 11 in all these matches... Hence, I belief they may put lesser likes out and hope they can still make it. For instance maybe Hargreaves and Barry for Yaya and De Jong kind of 2nd strings...

dragg SG

if city really cant cope then they should forget about the FA cup as its only in the 3rd round.

it may be more important than the carling but nowhere as important as the premiership title. they should focus on the premiership.

a few points lead is nothing in the premiership as there are many more games to play.

Medicated Oil SG

Seeing it from another angle, they can clinch Carling Cup once they beat Liverpool.

So, why not ?

As for Man Utd, they should have a chance to beat them since there are so many injury in the squad.

Triple for Man City ?

It is a big hope, why Not ?

dragg SG

Seeing it from another angle, they can clinch Carling Cup once they beat Liverpool.

So, why not ?

As for Man Utd, they should have a chance to beat them since there are so many injury in the squad.

Triple for Man City ?

It is a big hope, why Not ?

actually that is what they should do. challenge all honours.

zocoss SG

Off course challenge for all honours but prioritise definitely.

I guess it's easy when you think beat Pool and for sure win the Carling cup... But Pool will be thinking the very same thing too and probably more driven when they perhap know the league is beyond their reach this season and the Carling cup could be their best hope of getting into Europe next season... So City will have more on their plate like the... League, the FA cup, their pride against United and not least their confidence all to consider... and when you look at the Spurs match 3 days before their Anfield game, it's a big ask even from City's standard...

So it's more logical for them to put their best against United and Spurs as it could help them greatly in their title chase... Losing both even though United's is an FA cup, could damage their confidence and form a great deal for the rest of this season...

Seriously, if City is going to get anything from Anfield on a highly charge semi-final cup night, they will need all their best 11 to get through. But if they used most of them in their Spurs match, these fellows won't be fit in the last 20 mins. And that is not even considering the extra time should it go into it...

And if they are as expected get knock out of the CL this week, the premier league becomes all the more important. As i think even winning both cups would be deem a failure but a league title alone would be seen as a success.

The best chance is for City to use their back-up players against Pool (both legs) and keep their fingers cross and hope for the best... But I don't think it's going to be enough cos Pool is really driven to win this... Tough luck for City... lol.

Rooney_07 SG

the scary thing is if city all went thru the January period unscathed, they will be hot favourites to win the treble, EPL, fa and league cup.

Rock^Star SG

The scary thing is....you chase everything and lose everything :)

dragg SG

city i feel should reserve their strongest team for all the premiership games.

its not easy to win the premiership. now that they are ahead they should not waste it.

field reserve squads for both the FA and carling cup. city can win it next time. even smaller clubs have won both these cups. but never the premiership title.

now that city are out of the CL i hope they wont focus too much on the europa title.

they should even consider fielding young players for all those games.

but then i believe their pride may affect their decision making.

Rooney_07 SG

The scary thing is....you chase everything and lose everything :)

in1 week, they are out of 2 competitions already. potentially united could be out of the fa cup in January. by April possibly, united could be out of the title chase.

charlize SG

City to thrash United again.

Haiz.

charlize SG

Maybe City can win a treble of Cups this season.

DailyFreeGames.com SG

I would have thought united can look forward to champions league glory, but seems like they will win nothing this year... league not easy with city keep thrashing the other teams, unless they slip up but they not like other teams because they got good quality players to cover, like david silva/balotelli/edin dzeko/kun all can swap... now vidic out, we use evans sure alot of mistakes one, damn sian!... then talk about FA cup, even if win city, we don't immediately win the cup leh, it's only 3rd round, still may need to fight arsenal/liverpool/chelsea... then europa cup, actually waste of time, i dun even want to talk about this.

Rooney_07 SG

City to thrash United again.

Haiz.

that was a one-off lar. last time chelsea and newcastle thrashed united 5-0., doesnt mean they will trash united again right