ITV and BT Sport will bring football fans complete coverage of Third Round of the 2013/14 FA Cup this weekend in what is always one of the most eagerly awaited dates of the football calendar.
Every fan, player and manager dreams of lifting the FA Cup and plenty of shocks and surprises are in store this weekend as the big hitters from the Premier League and the Championship join the competition.
ITV will screen the pick of the Third Round ties – the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – kicking off at 5.15pm on Saturday, January 4.
Manchester City’s short trip to Blackburn Rovers will also be screened live on the same day, kicking-off at 12.45pm on BT Sport.
There are a further three televised games on Sunday, January 5, starting at noon on ITV when Championship high-fliers Nottingham Forest host West Ham United.
BT Sport will then show a double-header of live ties, featuring Derby County’s home clash with Chelsea, which kicks-off at 2.15pm, before it’s over to Old Trafford for the tie between Manchester United and Swansea City.
The current FA Cup holders are Championship side Wigan Athletic, who beat Manchester City 1-0 with a dramatic injury time winner by Ben Watson in the 2013 Final last May.
Wigan were the first team to win the FA Cup and to be relegated from the Premier League in the same season, it was also the first time that they had won the FA Cup in their history.
They will enter the competition in the third round in the first weekend of January 2014, alongside all Premier League and Championship teams.
Follow the road to Wembley with ITV and BT Sport’s comprehensive coverage throughout the 2013/14 season.
ITV Sport will broadcast the first and fourth pick of live FA Cup ties from rounds three to six, plus the first choice semi-final tie at Wembley, as well as comprehensive highlights every weekend during the competition.
New FA Cup rights holders BT Sport will screen the 2nd and 3rd pick choices from round three to the quarter-finals, plus a fifth choice match from rounds three to five.
The first pick of the replays during this phase of the competition will be shown on ITV, while additional replays will be broadcast by BT Sport.
Both channels will share live coverage of the 2014 FA Cup Final at Wembley on Saturday, May 17.
This will be the last season in which ITV will screen live FA Cup games for at least the next four years after the BBC regained terrestrial TV rights to the competition from 2014 to 2018.
Full details of when and where to watch all three live FA Cup 3rd Round ties on TV below:
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Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur Saturday 4 January |
17:30 |
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Nottingham Forest v West Ham United Sunday 5 January |
14:00 |
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ITV’s coverage of FA Cup Third Round weekend is headlined by the North London derby as arch rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.
Arsene Wenger’s long wait for silverware continues, but with the Gunners on top of the Premier League, could this be their year?
It will be the first time the two clubs have met in the FA Cup since their 2001 semi-final contest at Old Trafford – a game in which Spurs took the lead through Gary Doherty, before being pegged back by a Patrick Vieira equaliser and then a Robert Pires winner.
It will be the second time Spurs have visited Arsenal this season,having already lost 1-0 to their north London rivals thanks to an Olivier Giroud goal back in September 2013.
The Gunners last won the famous trophy in 2005, while Tottenham, now under new manager Tim Sherwood, last tasted FA Cup success in 1991.
ITV’s second live tie on Third Round weekend sees West Ham travel to the City Ground to play Nottingham Forest.
With the Hammers struggling in the Premier League and Forest near the top of the Championship, could there be a Cup upset?
Adrian Chiles presents coverage of both ITV’s live ties from north London and Nottingham, with commentary coming from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend at the Emirates and Sam Matterface with Clarke Carlisle at the City Ground.
Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Ledley King join Adrian in the studio at the Emirates on Saturday night, while Keane joins Lee Dixon for Sunday’s live tie.
The draw for the Fourth Round of the competition will be conducted after Nottingham Forest v West Ham at approximately 2.00pm on Sunday afternoon, presented by Matt Smith from Wembley Stadium.
Alongside the two live free-to-air ties, ITV will also scree comprehensive highlights on both Saturday and Sunday nights.
Matt Smith introduces ITV’s 90-minute highlights show on Saturday night, rounding up all the day’s action from 11.05pm, including the big clash between North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs, Manchester City’s trip to Ewood Park to play Blackburn Rovers and Harry Redknapp’s QPR side hoping to cause an upset against in-form Everton.
There will also be extended highlights of Leeds United’s away trip to Rochdale, Macclesfield against Sheffield Wednesday and Grimsby Town’s home tie versus Huddersfield Town.
On Sunday night, Jacqui Oatley presents the best of the action from all six Third Round ties played earlier in the day, including Chelsea’s trip to Championship side Derby, Nottingham Forest’s home tie with West Ham and Manchester United against Swansea.
Further news, match updates, reports and video clips from Third Round weekend can be found online via itv.com/football.
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Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City Saturday 4 January |
12:45 |
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Derby County v Chelsea Sunday 5 January |
14:15 |
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Manchester United v Swansea City Sunday 5 January |
16:30 |
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BT Sport covers its first ever FA Cup Third Round weekend and will feature three ties exclusively live.
Both Manchester clubs and Chelsea will be shown live on BT Sport and its coverage begins with Manchester City’s trip to Blackburn at midday on Saturday.
Championship side Blackburn Rovers will relish welcoming Barclays Premier League title-contenders Manchester City to Ewood Park.
A strong FA Cup campaign could reignite the Lancashire club’s league fortunes but beating Manuel Pellegrini’s men may prove difficult, especially as City will have the Cup in their sights after losing in the final against Wigan last season.
Chelsea travel to Derby County and Manchester United host Premier League rivals Swansea in BT Sport’s FA Cup double-header on Sunday afternoon.
Championship promotion hopefuls Derby take on top-flight heavyweights Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho setting out to win the second FA Cup of his career.
The Rams, now led by former England boss Steve McClaren, have been in excellent form since he took control at Pride Park.
Finally, David Moyes’ Manchester United welcome last season’s League Cup winners Swansea City to Old Trafford for an all-Barclays Premier League affair.
It will be the 42nd consecutive live televised FA Cup tie featuring United in a run that stretches back to 2005.
United will be hoping that a good Cup run against Michael Laudrup’s inconsistent Swansea can kick-start their season and help improve their league form.
BT Sport’s live coverage will be presented by Jake Humphrey alongside regular pundits David Ginola, Owen Hargreaves and Steve McManaman.
Commentary duties across all three ties will be shared by Ian Darke, Darren Fletcher, Michael Owen and Gary Pallister.
Commenting on the Third Round, BT Sport’s Michael Owen said: “Winning The FA Cup is something you dream about when you’re playing in the local parks as a boy and I was fortunate enough to not only win it but also score two goals in an extraordinary final.
“People always talk about the magic of the competition and I think we saw it at its best last season when Wigan defied the odds against Manchester City in the Final.
“The Third Round this season has again thrown up a load of David vs Goliath ties in a way no other competition in the world can.
“The FA Cup is one of the most recognisable pieces of silverware in the world and I hope to see the next generation of aspiring footballers fall in love with it the way I did.”
Not a BT Sport subscriber? Find out how to get BT Sport via bt.com/sport
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ITV′s live match coverage, as well additional video clips, interviews and analysis, is available to watch for free via the ITV football website.
BT Sport subscribers can watch the channel’s live matches on BT Sport 1 via its online streaming service at btsport.com or on the BT Sport app for mobile and tablet devices.
Keep up to date with all the latest FA Cup reports, goal flashes and results by following ITV Football on Twitter (@itvfootball) and BT Sport’s feed (@BTSport).
Online streaming available to UK users only.
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