FA Cup third round offers chance to fringe players (preview)

London, Jan 6 The third round of the FA Cup in England will allow some coaches to give minutes to fringe players against lower-league opposition. But Everton coach Frank Lampard has no such luxury, as his side dropped into the bottom three in midweek after a dreadful 4-1 home loss to Brighton.

Everton visit a consistently-improving Manchester United, and another defeat for Lampard's men could see his tenure at Goodison Park come to an end after just under a year.

Liverpool could hand a debut to new signing Cody Gakpo when they entertain Wolverhampton Wanderers. The visitors are showing signs of recovery under Julen Lopetegui and will look to take advantage of Virgil Van Dijk's absence with a muscle injury.

Newcastle United are riding high in the Premier League and showed their defensive talents with a 0-0 draw away to leaders Arsenal on Tuesday. Eddie Howe's side visits League One, Sheffield Wednesday for what promises to be a game played in a traditional FA Cup atmosphere.

Manchester City and Chelsea meet again at the Etihad Stadium, just three days after Pep Guardiola's side edged a narrow league win at Stamford Bridge. That win should give City confidence, although both teams are likely to have plenty of changes from the league clash, reports Xinhua.

There will be reunions when Fulham visit Hull City: Fulham boss Marco Silva did an excellent job as coach at Hull five years ago, even though he was unable to save them from relegation, while current Hull boss Liam Rosenior used to play for Fulham.

Michael Carrick's Middlesborough from the Championship should provide tough opposition for Brighton in what looks like an even game, especially if the Premier League side rests key players, while Tottenham are clear favourites to beat League One side Portsmouth who sacked coach Danny Cowley in midweek.

Nathan Jones hasn't been in the Southampton job for long, but his failure to produce any improvement means the former Luton coach is already under pressure as his side, at the bottom of the table, visits Crystal Palace.

Nottingham Forrest climbed out of the bottom three in the Premier League after winning in Southampton during the week and they visit Championship strugglers Blackpool. Both teams are expected to rotate players.

Leicester City play fourth-tier opposition in Gillingham, which should give Brendan Rodgers' side the chance for their first win since the World Cup finals, while Bournemouth have an interesting tie at home to Championship leaders Burnley, although both side's main priority is being in the Premier League next season.

Brentford entertain West Ham in another all-top-flight tie, just a week after winning away to David Moyes' side in the league, while Leeds United visit Cardiff City for a game that has traditionally seen sparks fly.

Aston Villa will be confident as they play at home to League Two's Stevenage, and Arsenal also drop down to play the League Two opposition Oxford United.