FA Cup third round: Fourteen additional ties to be screened on TNT Sports, including Everton v Sunderland

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Fourteen additional Emirates FA Cup third-round matches will be broadcast on TNT Sports, it has been confirmed, including Everton v Sunderland. In total, 22 matches will be screened from January 9-12. The weekend’s offering starts with West Ham v Nottingham Forest and will conclude with Liverpool’s tie against Burnley. Manchester United v Brighton is among the ties that will be shown.

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Emirates FA Cup fever arrives in January, with 22 third-round matches set to be broadcast by TNT Sports, headlined by Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion and Macclesfield v Crystal Palace.

A busy weekend of matches will begin with three matches on Friday night, including Wrexham's meeting with Nottingham Forest, and ends with Liverpool taking on Barnsley on Monday.

The other ties to be televised are: Preston North End v Wigan Athletic, MK Dons v Oxford United, Port Vale v Fleetwood Town, Everton v Sunderland, Cheltenham Town v Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town, Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa, Cambridge United v Birmingham City, Bristol City v Watford, Grimsby Town v Weston-super-Mare, Charlton Athletic v Chelsea, Derby County v Leeds United, Portsmouth v Arsenal, West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers, Hull City v Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United v Mansfield Town, Norwich City v Walsall, and Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion.

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The third round is set to take place from Friday 9 to Monday 12 January, 2026, with 22 matches available for fans to watch live.

TNT Sports will also broadcast a special FA Cup edition of Goals Show Extra from 12.00 GMT, showing all the goals from the third round as they go in, including the 10 games which begin at 15.00 GMT.

The draw for the fourth round will be made live on TNT Sports from Anfield ahead of Liverpool v Barnsley.

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Key matches

Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

Among the games kicking off the weekend's coverage on TNT Sports and discovery+ will be Wrexham's home clash against Nottingham Forest.

Wrexham, off the back of their historic back-to-back-to-back promotions under the high-profile investment of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have taken some time to warm to the second tier and will hope to spring a surprise on Forest, who have steadied the ship since Sean Dyche's arrival in October.

The third-round tie will kick off in north Wales at 19:30 UK time.

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Macclesfield v Crystal Palace

Holders Crystal Palace begin their defence with a third-round tie at sixth-tier Macclesfield, a phoenix club formed after the liquidation of Macclesfield Town in 2020.

The Silkmen are now one of only two sixth-tier clubs remaining in the competition, along with Weston-super-Mare, who visit Grimsby Town.

Macclesfield, who are 13th in National League North, beat Slough Town in extra time to progress from the second round.

Palace will be hoping for a smooth passage in the Saturday lunchtime game, with Macclesfield previously reaching the fourth round in 2013, where they were beaten by Wigan Athletic.

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

Tottenham host Aston Villa in one of four all-Premier League ties in round three. Thomas Frank's side will put their quest for more silverware on the line against a side they have already lost to at home in the Premier League.

Back in October, Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia scored two fine goals to earn Villa a deserved 2-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring for the hosts after just five minutes, getting Frank's side off to a great start, but Villa fought back for victory.

The teams met in the fourth round of the FA Cup last season, with Villa winning 2-1.

Charlton v Chelsea

Saturday evening will see Charlton Athletic host Chelsea at The Valley, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Chelsea fans will travel across the capital as they kick off their FA Cup run, hoping to claim the trophy for the first time since 2017/18 - having suffered a disappointing fourth-round exit to Brighton & Hove Albion last season.

The fascinating third-round tie will see Nathan Jones given another opportunity to test his wits against Premier League opposition.

The former Southampton manager guided Charlton back to the second tier last season with a play-off final victory over Leyton Orient.

The south-east London club have not gone further than the third round since their run to the quarter-finals in 2013/14.

Derby v Leeds

On Sunday, January 11, the lunchtime encounter sees Championship side Derby County face last year's Championship winners, Leeds United. Kick-off at Pride Park Stadium is at 12:00 UK time.

Derby have not prevailed over Leeds since their 4-2 play-off semi-final victory in May 2019, when Frank Lampard was manager.

And it is sure to be an intriguing match-up between two sides who have experienced great highs and equally disappointing lows throughout the campaign.

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The boiling-hot pressure on Leeds boss Daniel Farke has been reduced to a simmer following their victory against Chelsea and comeback draw against Liverpool.

And Farke may well be confident coming up against opposition from the Championship, a division he has won three times.

Portsmouth v Arsenal

Championship side and former Premier League stalwarts Portsmouth will host current top-flight and European leaders Arsenal in one of the ties of the round.

The clash will see Arsenal travel to Fratton Park, evoking memories of Pompey's glory days in the top-flight, before they crashed through the Football League as a result of severe financial trouble.

It is also a replay of their fifth round meeting in 2020, as Arsenal went on to beat Chelsea in the final and win the first and only major trophy of Mikel Arteta's reign so far.

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While Arsenal are flying in domestic and continental football, Portsmouth are struggling in the Championship, with young manager John Mousinho under pressure to arrest their slide, which has seen them win once in their last 10 matches.

But FA Cup football works in funny ways, and you cannot discount a surprise result in Hampshire when the teams meet, with kick-off at 14:00 UK time.

Man Utd v Brighton

In the Sunday evening tie, Manchester United host Brighton as Ruben Amorim begins his hunt for a first major trophy at Old Trafford - a quest which may be beginning at a good time, given their improved form in recent months.

United were defeated by Fulham in the fifth round last season - Amorim's first taste of the competition - while Brighton made it a stage further, to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by Forest.

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Amorim's side have lost just once since the end of September, and are eyeing a spot in Europe following their lowest placing in the Premier League last season.

The FA Cup was the last major trophy won by United - under Erik ten Hag in the 2023/24 season, and returning the silverware to their grasp could well signpost an end to the difficult intervening period.

Liverpool v Barnsley

On Monday, January 12, League One side Barnsley will hope to spring a big surprise at Anfield as they take on Premier League champions Liverpool.

Arne Slot's side, who returned to form with a 1-0 victory over Inter in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, have endured high-profile struggles this season, compounded by the recent controversy surrounding Mohamed Salah's explosive interview, which has cast doubts over his future at the club.

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They will hope to avoid a similar upset to that which saw them knocked out of last season's FA Cup by Championship side Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round, when Slot fielded a much-rotated side.

Barnsley are enduring a stop-start campaign under the guidance of former Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane, but in Davis Keillor-Dunn, have one of the sharpest shooters in the third tier. The 28-year-old is League One's joint-top goalscorer with nine so far this season.

The Monday evening clash gets underway at Anfield at 19:30 UK time.

Third-round picks in full on TNT Sports & discovery+

Date	Match	Kick-off (UK time)
Friday, January 9	Wrexham v Nottingham Forest	19:30
Friday, January 9	Preston North End v Wigan Athletic	19:30
Friday, January 9	MK Dons v Oxford United	19:30
Friday, January 9	Port Vale v Fleetwood Town	19.30
Saturday, January 10	Cheltenham Town v Leicester City	12:15
Saturday, January 10	Everton v Sunderland	12:15
Saturday, January 10	Wolverhampton Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town	12:15
Saturday, January 10	Macclesfield v Crystal Palace	12:15
Saturday, January 10	Cambridge United v Birmingham City	17:45
Saturday, January 10	Bristol City v Watford	17:45
Saturday, January 10	Grimsby Town v Weston-super-Mare	17:45
Saturday, January 10	Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa	17:45
Saturday, January 10	Charlton v Chelsea	20:00
Sunday, January 11	Derby v Leeds	12:00
Sunday, January 11	Portsmouth v Arsenal	14:00
Sunday, January 11	West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers	14:30
Sunday, January 11	Hull City v Blackburn Rovers	14:30
Sunday, January 11	Sheffield United v Mansfield Town	14:30
Sunday, January 11	Norwich City v Walsall	14:30
Sunday, January 11	Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion	14:30
Sunday, January 11	Man Utd v Brighton	16:30
Monday, January 12	Liverpool v Barnsley	19:30

Click here to see the FA Cup third-round draw in full.

How do I watch FA Cup live streams on TNT Sports? What is discovery+?

The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports and entertainment in one destination.

You can also watch TNT Sports through EE TV, Sky, and Virgin Media.

What channels does TNT Sports offer and on which platforms?

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

Depending on your subscription and device, fans can enjoy access to the following TNT Sports channels:

TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4 - in standard definition and high definition, plus six red-button channels.
TNT Sports Ultimate will offer fans coverage of selected events in up to 4K picture resolution with high dynamic range (HDR) - representing colours and action in almost life-like quality - and Dolby Atmos sound.
TNT Sports Box Office, offering both subscribers and non-subscribers pay-per-view access to some of the most exciting events in the calendar.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, EE TV, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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