FA Cup / Andrew French / 03 January 2008 /

Andrew French looks at the possible fortunes of the Championship clubs as they tackle the third round of the FA Cup

The FA Cup is magical - always has been, always will be as far as I am concerned. But I do think it possesses a little less magic than it used to.

Big shocks don't happen as often - the days of small non-league sides beating top-flight clubs on muddy pitches with the crowd overhanging the touchline are rare, especially as most smaller clubs do all they can to switch plum home ties to a bigger venue in order to rake in extra income.

Promotion between the Conference and Football League has blurred things - teams who were non-league are now in the league, and vice-versa.

And when a smaller club does go all the way, as Millwall did a few years ago, you end up with a final that isn't much of a contest.

Having said all that, Third Round weekend is still special. Everyone will want Chasetown [9.2] to win, except all connected with Cardiff [1.33] who will want to avoid humiliation.

If there are to be upsets then the Championship clubs are best equipped to humble the aristocrats of the Premiership. However, four of the division's best sides are playing each: Charlton [2.5] v West Brom [2.84] and Watford [1.97] v Crystal Palace [4.2]. For fans of those four clubs, it will not feel much different to any other Saturday, and although two of them will reach the fourth round, such is the financial impact of promotion compared to the likelihood of winning the FA Cup that these ties will probably be more of a distraction.

For the second successive year, Bristol City [2.94] meet Middlesbrough [2.6] in the FA Cup. The Ashton Gate club have been promoted since then, and are serious contenders to go up again. Twelve months ago, Boro needed a replay and penalties to see off Gary Johnson's side, and they will not relish a trip to the West Country in the midst of a season scrapping to avoid the drop.

Ipswich's [3.6] outstanding form at home must give them a better than fair chance of overturning Portsmouth [2.14]. The Tractor Boys are unbeaten in 17 games at Portman Road, although with seven wins this season, no Premiership club has a better away record than Pompey.

Both Burnley and Stoke have home draws against Premiership sides with large contingents of travelling fans, so if nothing else they'll enjoy bumper gate receipts.

Of the two, Stoke [3.3] face the seemingly more likely opportunity of a scalp against a Newcastle [2.32] side which is clearly not firing on all cylinders. Indeed, defeat at Britannia Stadium could spell big problems for Sam Allardyce.

Strangely, if Burnley [9.2] were away from home you could give them more chance of achieving something against Arsenal [1.44] than at their Turf Moor home. The Clarets have won only three games all season on their own patch, but have been successful in six away games.

The West London derby between Chelsea [1.16] and QPR [18.5] could easily be a battle of the bank balance, with Rangers suddenly becoming potentially one of the wealthiest clubs in the country thanks to investment from the Mittal family. However, this tie probably comes too soon for Rangers' funds to make any difference- after all, they are not in the bottom third of the Championship because they have been playing well. Having said that, their 4-2 win at Watford last weekend showed what they are capable of.

Both Coventry [9.8] (at Blackburn [1.36]) and Sheffield Unite [6.6] (at Bolton [1.58]) would probably be pleased to earn a replay at their own grounds, and the same could be said of Sheffield Wednesday [4.4] who visit Derby [1.88] on Sunday - although such is the Rams poor form this season, a Wednesday victory would not be much of a shock.

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