Liverpool favourites, Tottenham’s opportunity & more

The weekend of FA Cup round three is a lot like second Christmas to English football fans.

When the most entertaining football returns to terrestrial television, when celebrity A-listers have to get changed in the equivalent of an outhouse with minimal plumbing, when VAR has buggered off for the majority of fixtures – this is true football.

Here’s your comprehensive review of this weekend’s third round action.

Arsenal were made to rue a plethora of missed chances as they fell to Liverpool at the first hurdle of their FA Cup adventure.

The Gunners dominated the Reds during a one-sided first half, but some tactical tweaks from Jurgen Klopp helped stem the tide after the break and the visitors went on to win the tie with two late goals.

That Liverpool were able to go to one of the country’s best teams without their two best players – the AFCON-bound Mohamed Salah and ill Virgil van Dijk – withstand a barrage of pressure and still make the requisite tweaks needed to clinch the tie in only 90 minutes is testament to Klopp’s current cohort. They can hurt the best of teams in a number of ways even with their star men out – a proven recipe for cup success.

Tottenham Hotspur had to endure a similar suffering to advance to the next round, relying on a screamer from Pedro Porro to eek past Burnley.

Further paralleling Liverpool, Spurs were still missing several key players, including all three of their nominated captains – Son Heung-min, James Maddison and Cristian Romero.

They have been pitted at home to Manchester City in round four, and while that’s not an ideal opponent for Spurs in their quest to end their 16-year trophy drought, their visitors will have dreaded the draw a little more than themselves.

City have lost all five of their visits to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and have not even scored a goal at the billion-pound ground. They should at least have Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland available for their next trip to north London while Spurs will still have major absences, but that mental hurdle is still in need of clearing.

Should Tottenham progress, then they will surely have overcome a huge mental obstacle of their own. With Postecoglou’s men only competing on two fronts from here on in, they should be able to prioritise winning the cup.

So this is the state of Manchester United’s season – praising…