-
Leeds to win feisty affair
-
Hartlepool set to slay insipid Stoke
-
Stevenage may cause Villa issues
-
City will worsen Chelsea's crisis
Bristol City v Swansea (12:30) - Goals shared
The Swans are yet to drop a single league point after taking a lead in 2022/23 but it's the hosts who typically start the brightest, scoring 59% of their Championship goals in the first period. Indeed, eight of their last nine have been notched before the break.
Identifying a potential goal-scorer however is difficult given the Robins' have shared around the glory since mid-October, no player finding the net more than once in that period.
For the visitors it gets a touch easier, with Liam Cullen scoring three in his last four, two of which came from the bench.
There will likely be goals in this one. Swansea's last 11 FA Cup games have produced at least two apiece.
Derby v Barnsley (12:30) - Rams progress
Barnsley were flying until a 0-3 reverse at home to Bolton last Monday juddered their momentum. The defeat saw the Trotters climb above them in the Play-Off spots.
So much of the loss though can be attributed to an 11th minute dismissal of Barnsley's captain Mads Andersen - with a subsequent penalty converted - and elsewhere confidence and optimism remains high in South Yorkshire, with Michael Duff's side taking 18 points from their previous 21. They will cause the Rams problems this weekend.
Still, it's fellow League One Play-Off contenders Derby who should be fancied, a side that's lost only once at Pride Park since Paul Warne took the reins. Unbeaten in 11, a reconfigured defence has given them a platform to chase promotion, keeping seven clean sheets in that period.
Cardiff v Leeds (14:00) - A testy test
Jessie Marsch's side have improved on their discipline in recent weeks but even so, don't rule out a feisty affair in South Wales. Cardiff have gone down to ten men on three occasions this term, Leeds twice.
The Yorkshire giants will be determined to reach a fourth round, having last done so in 2016/17, and though this looks a tricky test on paper they could in truth have it worse. The Bluebirds are winless in seven and all season long have struggled in front of goal, converting every 117 minutes in 2022/23.
By comparison, despite some mixed results, Leeds have scored two-plus goals in five of their last seven and our own Max Liu agrees that the top-flight side will prevail.
Hartlepool v Stoke (14:00) - Potters potted
The Monkey Hangers may be languishing precariously above the drop-zone in League Two but a cup shock may be on the cards at Victoria Park.
Having lost just one of their last four outings there is a feeling that Keith Curle's strugglers are beginning to turn a corner and certainly the eight goals they've scored in that time represents their most prolific spell all season. Better still, having endured an eight-game drought their leading marksman Josh Umerah is back among the goals, having found the target against Harrogate on New Year's Day.
As for Stoke, they are uninspired and uninspiring at present and unless they respond strongly to consecutive, insipid home losses they face ignominy in the North-East.
Right now, they don't have it in them.
Norwich v Blackburn (14:00) - Striking similarities
The Championship version of this fixture took place at Carrow Road a week before Christmas, with Rovers emerging with the points. Nineteen shots undertaken without reward for the home side highlights a wastefulness that has come to define their campaign.
Yet that impressive victory in Norfolk was bookended by four defeats for Blackburn, who have seen their automatic promotion hopes suffer as a consequence, and it's fair to say that neither side are in great form currently. The Canaries have won only one of their last six.
If that makes this tie difficult to call let's instead focus on their main threats where we encounter two front-men experiencing similar seasons.
Blackburn's Ben Brereton Diaz and Norwich's Josh Sargent have nine apiece this term, the former notching 30% of his team's total tally, the former 28.1%. Both have scored seven of their nine on home soil.
If that leans us slightly to a home win certainly getting off the mark first will considerably help managerless Norwich. Rovers have gone behind on 12 occasions this season. They lost all 12.
Lastly, a quirk that is always worth noting. Blackburn are the only side in the top seven tiers of the footballing pyramid still to draw a league game in 2022/23.
Stockport v Walsall (14:00) - Close to the Edgeley
Both sides hold League 2 Play-Off aspirations and would perhaps view the cup as a distraction were their opponents a league or two higher. This though, for each, is a tremendous opportunity to reach the fourth round and enjoy some glory to go with the grind.
Last weekend, the Saddlers hosted County, losing 2-0, but it is they who possess the most potent goal-threat in the form of Danny Johnson. The Burton loanee has fired 13 across all comps this term and with his loan ending imminently he will be keen to go out on a high. His haul equates to 0.59 goals per 90 with an impressive shot accuracy of 67%.
Stockport meanwhile boast the second best shots-per-game ratio in the division and crucially for fixtures such as this, their fans make Edgeley Park hostile and very, very noisy.
Aston Villa v Stevenage (16:30) - Class eventually tells
Boro are unbeaten in nine and flying high in League 2, and should they pull off a quintessential giant-killing at Villa Park the onus will likely fall on striker Luke Norris, who has been their cup hero to date scoring three in two in earlier rounds.
Villa too, should be wary of their opponent's aerial prowess that makes them a viable threat at set pieces while at the other end Danny Ings and company will have their work cut out penetrating a back-line that has conceded a mere 0.7 per game all season.
Naturally enough, the Premier League side are fancied to progress on Sunday afternoon, but it will likely take some time for their class to ultimately tell.
Manchester City v Chelsea (16:30) - Crisis continues
With an injury crisis, an actual crisis, and a manager struggling to implement his ways and means to a squad of players, Chelsea are experiencing a perfect storm at present, one that has produced just one win in seven in the Premier League.
Pertinently, their latest setback played out at the Bridge this week against Sunday's opponents, and if City were too preoccupied with an unusual structure in the first-half to take full advantage, they took control thereafter. A repeated outcome feels credible at the weekend even if changes can be expected from both line-ups.
However much cup pedigree is a factor should be acknowledged, with Chelsea reaching five of the last six FA Cup finals, and it matters too that City have looked a touch unsure of themselves at the Etihad in their last three outings.
But Pep Guardiola's men have now beaten their southern counterparts in the League Cup and the league this term. They have the measure of a flailing foe.