FA Cup third round overall preview: Tottenham take on Morecambe as Liverpool host Shrewsbury
Follow Sunday's FA Cup third round action in our dedicated live blog, as Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham begin their FA Cup campaigns
Sunday 9 January 2022 14:10, UK
Team news, match stats and how to follow ahead of a bumper weekend of FA Cup third round action as Premier League clubs enter the competition.
Selected Sunday third-round ties
Kick Off 2pm: Charlton Athletic vs Norwich
Team news: Charlton will not be able to play on-loan defender Akin Famewo in Sunday's FA Cup third-round tie against Premier League Norwich.
The 23-year-old centre-back is not available to face his parent club under the terms of his season-long loan deal.
Top-scorer Jayden Stockley has been sent to visit a specialist over a hip problem which has kept him out since before Christmas.
Jonathan Leko scored a last-minute header to secure a 1-0 EFL Trophy win over Milton Keynes and send the Addicks into the quarter-finals, so could retain his place in attack.
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Norwich, bottom of the Premier League, have not played since December 28 following a Covid-19 outbreak which saw the trip to Leicester on New Year's Day postponed.
Several players are expected to be back in contention, with captain Grant Hanley (shoulder), forward Milot Rashica (groin) and goalkeeper Tim Krul (coronavirus) among those set to return to training with the squad.
Midfielder Todd Cantwell, subject of transfer speculation during the January window, could be handed a start, but Lukas Rupp (hamstring), Mathias Normann (pelvis) and defender Andrew Omobamidele (back) remain sidelined.
Defender Bali Mumba has joined Peterborough on loan until the end of the season while 19-year-old forward Tyrese Omotoye will spend the rest of the campaign at Carlisle.
Key stat: Charlton Athletic and Norwich City have only met in the FA Cup once before, a third-round tie in 2008-09 that the Addicks won 1-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw at the Valley.
Kick Off 2pm: Liverpool vs Shrewsbury Town
Team news: A Covid-19 outbreak which caused the shut-down of first-team training for 48 hours will impact the side Liverpool put out at home to Shrewsbury in the third round of the FA Cup.
It was likely a number of fringe players would have featured regardless but with only the academy sides able to train over the last couple of days, the reliance on youngsters is likely to be greater.
That means the likes of Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton, Owen Beck, Kaide Gordon, Max Woltman and Harvey Blair will come into consideration, providing they are not affected by Covid.
First-teamers Thiago Alcantara (hip) and Divock Origi (knee) have been out for a couple of weeks and are unlikely to be risked but Takumi Minamino could come back after injury.
Shrewsbury's Daniel Udoh will be given until the last moment to prove his fitness.
The nine-goal striker limped out of last Sunday's 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday with a hamstring injury.
Fellow forward Tom Bloxham returns from a three-match suspension.
On-loan players Sam Cosgrove and Khanya Leshabela are available while newest temporary addition Saikou Janneh, from Bristol City, could make his debut.
Key stat: Liverpool have faced Shrewsbury in the FA Cup in two previous campaigns, eliminating the Shrews in the fourth round in both 1995-96 and 2019-20, the latter after a replay.
Kick Off 2pm: Tottenham vs Morecambe
Team news: Tottenham will be without Son Heung-min for the visit of League One Morecambe.
The South Korean picked up a muscle injury against Chelsea in midweek and is out for the remainder of Spurs' January fixtures.
Harry Kane will be rested as Antonio Conte looks set to give his fringe players a run.
A couple of unnamed players could still miss out with Covid-19 while Cristian Romero, Ryan Sessegnon and Steven Bergwijn are also set to be absent.
Morecambe could hand debuts to Jacob Bedeau and Trevor Carson.
Central defender Bedeau has arrived on loan from Burnley for the rest of the season while experienced goalkeeper Carson has signed from Dundee United for the same period.
Jake McPake will not be involved, though, as he has returned to parent club Rangers after playing seven times in the first half of the season.
Boss Stephen Robinson is returning to the club where he came through the ranks and represented the first team twice in the 1990s.
Key stat: This is the first ever competitive meeting between Tottenham and Morecambe - Spurs have progressed past each of their last 20 FA Cup ties against sides from the third tier or lower since losing 2-1 at Port Vale in January 1988.
Kick Off 2pm: West Ham vs Leeds
Team news: West Ham are still without injured defenders Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna for the visit of Leeds.
Full-back Aaron Creswell could miss out again due to a back problem.
Boss David Moyes also confirmed there are "one or two" Covid cases in the Hammers camp.
Alphonse Areola could replace Lukasz Fabianski in goal as he has in the previous cup competitions.
Leeds have suffered a fresh injury setback ahead of the trip south with Joe Gelhardt joining the already-long list of those in the treatment room.
Marcelo Bielsa is hoping that Patrick Bamford, back from a hamstring problem, is ready to start after Tyler Roberts hobbled off in last weekend's win over Burnley before Gelhardt hurt his ankle in training on Thursday.
Bielsa estimated that both players face three weeks out.
They join Leeds' lengthy injury list, with Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips, Rodrigo, Pascal Struijk, Charlie Cresswell and Jamie Shackleton already ruled out.
Key stat: Leeds have lost their last three meetings with West Ham in all competitions, more than they had in their previous 28 against them beforehand (W18 D8 L2).
Kick Off 2pm: Wolves vs Sheffield United
Team news: Wolves boss Bruno Lage is expected to make some changes for their FA Cup tie against Sheffield United.
John Ruddy is likely to deputise for Jose Sa in goal while the likes of Ki-Jana Hoever and Fabio Silva could also be handed rare starting places. Rayan Ait-Nouri is fit again after a groin problem and the French defender could get his first outing for a month on Sunday.
Lage, a former assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday, may not make too many changes, however, with his team having played only once since December 19.
Hwang Hee-chan (hamstring), Willy Boly (calf), Jonny Castro Otto (knee), Yerson Mosquera (hamstring) and Pedro Neto (knee) remain out.
Sheffield United will be without 11 players due to injury and coronavirus issues.
The Blades have not had a game since December 20 and boss Paul Heckingbottom did not name the players affected, although Robin Olsen is known to be an absentee.
Morgan Gibbs-White, on loan from Wolves, would have been eligible to play against his parent club but the midfielder is nursing a knee injury.
Rhian Brewster resumed training this week after an absence with a hamstring issue and the striker should be involved in the third-round tie.
Key stat: Wolves are looking to win three consecutive games against Sheffield United in all competitions for the first time since February 1966, the third game of which was in the FA Cup.
Kick Off 5.10pm: Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal
Team news: Nottingham Forest have been boosted for Sunday's visit of Arsenal by the midweek arrivals of Steve Cook and Keinan Davis.
The duo moved to the City Ground from Bournemouth and Aston Villa respectively and could make their debuts in the FA Cup third-round tie.
Boss Steve Cooper will welcome their additions after Monday's scheduled match with Barnsley was postponed due to a lack of available players following a Covid-19 outbreak.
Max Lowe (groin), Joe Lolley (knee), Loic Mbe Soh (thigh), Alex Mighten (knee), Rodrigo Ely (muscle) and Mohamed Drager (ankle) remain absent while Ryan Yates and Tobias Figueiredo were notable players to miss the defeat at home to Huddersfield on December 20.
Arsenal also have coronavirus issues with manager Mikel Arteta admitting they are "very short" ahead of the trip.
The Gunners will definitely be without Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who are all away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Others sidelined include Sead Kolasinac (ankle) and Gabriel Magalhaes after he was sent off during last weekend's defeat at Manchester City.
Calum Chambers and Eddie Nketiah were not involved in the dramatic 2-1 loss after they tested positive for Covid-19 but both have returned to training and may feature against Forest.
Key stat: This is the fifth FA Cup meeting between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal, with both sides progressing twice each - Forest in 1987-88 and 2017-18, and Arsenal in 1978-79 and 1992-93.
