Plus: Wigan vs Man Utd; the FA Cup third-round matches will be played between January 4 and January 8
Sunday 7 January 2024 14:26, UK
Sky Sports' football writers look at the key talking points for this weekend's FA Cup third-round fixtures.
Arsenal vs Liverpool - Sunday, 4.30pm
Liverpool's FA Cup third-round tie at Arsenal on Sunday will be the first time manager Jurgen Klopp is unable to select Mohamed Salah in his starting lineup this season now that the forward has joined up with Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah's absence for the rest of January "damages" the Reds, according to Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, and while the player is irreplaceable, Klopp can use the clash at the Emirates to try out who he believes is best suited to fill in for the Premier League's joint top scorer on the righthand side of their attack.
Do not be surprised then to see Harvey Elliott handed the job, a role he has already taken on when coming off the bench to replace Salah at times this season, while the versatile forward is also comfortable operating on that side of the pitch - unlike fellow forwards Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, who all either prefer to play on the left of a front three, or through the middle.
With two top-flight goals and an assist to his name so far this campaign, including a recent late winner at Crystal Palace, the 20-year-old has the confidence to take on one of the hardest jobs in world football - replacing Salah.
Richard Morgan
Arsenal will play Liverpool three times in a little over a month but this second instalment of the series may be the one where Mikel Arteta makes his team selections based on the bigger picture. A win would be a timely morale-boost but recovery may well be the primary focus.
The defeat at Fulham last weekend was well below par and no doubt Arteta and the players from that match will be itching to get back out on the field and put in an improved performance. But after a packed festive schedule, a physical and mental rest will surely be in order for some, with Arsenal winning just one of their last six in all competitions.
There will be some enforced selections, with Jakob Kiwior certain to be in defence with Takehiro Tomiyasu at the Asian Cup and Oleksandr Zinchenko nursing a calf problem. Cup regulars Aaron Ramsdale, Leandro Trossard, Emile Smith Rowe and Jorginho are also likely to get a run out.
Arteta used the Carabao Cup tie at West Ham earlier this season to take key men Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba out of the firing line, and a similar approach could be on the cards here - despite the heavyweight opponents coming to the Emirates.
With a Champions League last-16 tie to look forward to and a Premier League title challenge to relaunch, the FA Cup has been nudged down the priority list for Arsenal right now. But it will still be a big game for the fringe players handed their chance - and if Liverpool take a similar view, Arteta could well have his cake and eat it.
Peter Smith
Wigan vs Man Utd - Monday, 8.15pm
Eighth in the Premier League and nine points off the top four. A fourth-round Carabao Cup exit and rock-bottom Champions League finish. It has been a miserable season for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag, but they have one last chance to save it.
The FA Cup represents United's only hope of winning silverware under the Dutchman this year and, on paper at least, they have a straightforward passage to the next round. There are tougher opponents than Wigan Athletic - a team sitting 17th in League One - but it would be foolish to write them off given United's inconsistency this term.
Ten Hag's side have lost 14 of their 28 games in all competitions and will be in unfamiliar territory when they make the short journey to the DW Stadium on Monday night. It will be their first away domestic cup tie since March 2021 - that alone poses a psychological challenge.
Throw in the fact that Wigan have progressed from more FA Cup ties against Premier League opponents than any other club from outside the top division in the last 10 years - as well as winning their previous five FA Cup games played on a Monday - and the signs suggest a potential upset could be on the cards.
Ten Hag still has some credit in the bank after delivering United's first trophy in six years and finishing third in the Premier League during his debut campaign, but he cannot afford to let his team's dismal form in the second half of 2023 continue into 2024.
Now, under the watchful eye of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS, the pressure to perform is greater than ever. Winning the FA Cup is the very least he and United must achieve to make this season some sort of success.
Dan Sansom
