🏆 FA Cup Forecast: A Merseyside derby and Arteta v Bielsa | OneFootball

It’s one of the most wonderful weekends of the English football calendar, when the big boys join the FA Cup at the third round stage.

Expect giant-killings, magic and drama. Here’s what to look out for.

Tie of the round

Liverpool v Everton

A month ago Marco Silva took Everton to face rivals Liverpool at Anfield and they were sent packing with a 5-2 defeat.

A lot, however, has changed at Goodison Park in that month. Silva has been sacked and, after caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson restored some pride to the club, the Toffees pulled off a huge managerial coup by hiring Carlo Ancelotti.

On Saturday, Ancelotti will get his first taste of a Merseyside derby and if his side are to have any chance of getting a result, they will have to be a lot better than they were against Manchester City on New Year’s Day.

Because they will be up against a Liverpool team who haven’t lost a Premier League match in 12 months and though the FA Cup won’t be their main priority this season, Jürgen Klopp would be foolish to make too many changes and risk losing a derby match considering their healthy lead at the top of the table.

But if the visitors do win, Ancelotti will become the first Everton manager to win at Anfield since Walter Smith in September 1999.

Potential upset

Arsenal v Leeds

Perhaps the most interesting managerial tussle of the third round will see Mikel Arteta up against Marcelo Bielsa.

Arsenal finally got the result their performance deserved when they overcame Manchester United and they should be full of confidence heading into this one.

As will Leeds, who are top of the Championship despite a recent run of inconsistent results.

Pep Guardiola will no doubt be a keen observer of this match given it will pip his protégé Arteta against one of his idols in Bielsa, and if it’s good enough for Pep, it’s good enough for the rest of us.

This one really isn’t to be missed, especially as we have a feeling it could be the underdogs who end up in the hat for the next round.

Easiest win

Manchester City v Port Vale

But one side we definitely can’t see springing a surprise are Port Vale, who face the daunting task of a trip to the Etihad on Saturday evening.

Since their defeat at Wolves on Boxing Day, City have notched up back-to-back wins against Everton and Sheffield United and the FA Cup holders are almost looking back to their old selves again.

They also rested the likes of Sergio Agüero, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva for that win over the Toffees, meaning they could all be set to feature this weekend.

Vale, on the other hand, have won just one of their last five games in League Two.

The two sides will be separated by 75 league positions at kick off and we’re expecting nothing other than a comfortable home victory.

Keep an eye on

Take A Minute

You might have noticed that every FA Cup third round fixture will be kicking off one minute later than is traditional this weekend, but you might not realise there’s a very good reason why.

As part of an initiative to raise awareness of mental health issues, the FA are encouraging fans to ‘Take A Minute’ to think about their own mental health, as part of the Heads Up campaign.

The scheme is designed to draw attention to the simple steps we can all take to better look after our mental health and wellbeing and we at Onefootball think it is a very good idea.

As FA chief executive Mark Billingham said: “Whilst delaying kick-off times by 60 seconds is a simple idea, it provides a powerful platform for us and our Heads Up charity partners to deliver a really important message on mental health.

“We know that men in particular can be reluctant to talk about the subject, so it is important that we use football as a vehicle to stress the importance of mental fitness.”