The third round of the FA Cup is one of the great set-pieces of the British sporting calendar.
It may not quite look like it used to, having moved a little later in the calendar and with fixtures from Friday evening all the way through until Monday night, but it is still a weekend packed full of drama.
There are no replays either, and Friday night already produced two penalty shootouts, the most significant of which was the setting for Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo to produce two brilliant saves and upset Nottingham Forest after a 3-3 draw in extra time.
And there are a fair few chances for a giant-killing on Saturday, with 18 games in total.
In the early kick-offs, sixth-tier Macclesfield are hosting holders Crystal Palace, who sit 117 places above their Cheshire opponents, while the Premier League’s bottom side host Shrewsbury, third-bottom of the entire Football League and a relatively local rival, just 30 miles up the M54.
At 3pm, Exeter City could spring one of the all-time biggest cupsets if they beat seven-time winner Manchester City at the Etihad, while non-league Boreham Wood might not get many better chances to reach the fourth round than hosting League One relegation battlers Burton Albion.
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So here’s the state of play with 25 minutes gone in the four early kick-offs
- Cheltenham 0-1 Leicester
- Everton 0-0 Sunderland
- Macclesfield 0-0 Crystal Palace
- Wolves 2-1 Shrewsbury
The Shrews have pulled one back through a dubious John Marquis penalty (no VAR at this stage, of course) and Patson Daka has given Leicester the lead.
Not prolific, Daka: that’s his third goal in 48 games…
Quiet start from the holders
Macclesfield 0-0 Crystal Palace (20 mins)
I’m probably wrong but this game does have the hallmarks of a classic cupset: standing room only behind the goal, a sellout at 5,300, a plastic pitch on which the Premier League side have refused to risk Jean-Phillipe Mateta – and now the Macclesfield captain Paul Dawson, a former motorway supervisor, has had his head taped up like Terry Butcher.
No real chances yet though.
Not a great day for the Shrews so far…
Wolves 2-0 Shrewsbury (17 mins)
I say the snow has melted, not in the Black Country it seems, where a number of Shrewsbury fans have been badly delayed even though they only have to travel 30 miles to Molineux.
And some of them might be thinking about turning around on the M54 because Jorgen Strand Larsen and Jhon Arias have scored twice in three minutes to give the Premier League’s bottom side a comfortable cushion.
Wolves score two in quick succession, the perfect start after 12 minutes!
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 10, 2026pic.twitter.com/vcTwPLdB38
Welcome to FA Cup third-round day!
The snow has melted (for most of us), the Premier League has briefly let up and there is room for every fan to dream of winning the cup.
Crystal Palace lived that dream last year, winning the FA Cup for the first time in their history, and they now face the lowest-ranked side in the competition with a trip to Macclesfield, and that’s where I’ll be focusing for the first next couple of hours.
I’ll also keep you across a busy day of European Champions Cup rugby, and anything else breaking across the sporting world.
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