Tottenham’s FA Cup match vs. Newport County to be televised in UK, USA

Tottenham Hotspur fans have had a little difficulty watching their club in the domestic cups this season. In two occasions this season — Spurs’ League Cup win over Barnsley in September, and the FA Cup third round win over AFC Wimbledon in early January — their cup matches were not selected for television. That forced Spurs fans to make do with either radio streams or (hilariously) random Periscope feeds from fans in the stands watching at the stadium.

But not this time! Tottenham’s FA Cup fourth round trip to League 2 minnows Newport County has been selected as one of a handful of televised games in both the UK and USA. Newport County vs. Spurs will be televised in the United Kingdom on BT Sport 2, while Fox Sports 1 will show the match in the USA.

The match is scheduled for Saturday, January 27, with a kick-off time of 5:30 pm BST (12:30 pm ET).

Why this match and not the others? It probably has more to do with the Magic of the Cup than anything else. The difference between Spurs’ other two cup matches against lower league minnows is that this time the match is away. That provides a much more enticing match-up for television than a big club pounding away at a lower league club at home, as the chances of a big upset are (marginally) greater.

Here’s the full list of games that are slated for television:

Friday, January 26

• Yeovil Town vs. Manchester United (7:55 pm BST), BBC One, Fox Deportes

Saturday, January 27

• Peterborough United vs. Fleetwood Town or Leicester City (12:30 pm BST), BT Sport 2, Fox Sports 1
• Newport County vs. Tottenham Hotspur (5:30 p.m. BST), BT Sport 2, Fox Sports 1
• Liverpool vs. West Brom (7:45 pm BST), BT Sport 2, Fox Sports 2

Sunday, January 28

• Norwich City or Chelsea vs. Newcastle (1:30 pm BST), BT Sport 2, Fox Sports 2
• Cardiff City or Mansfield Town vs. Manchester City (4:00 pm BST), BBC One