Tottenham draw Tranmere or Southport in third round of FA Cup

The new calendar year always brings with it another competition to add to Tottenham Hotspur’s busy schedule as the FA Cup reaches its third round and sees the Premier League teams finally enter the field of play.

Those third round matches will take place on the weekend of the 5th and 6th of January, and now Spurs know they will be facing one of two teams. Tottenham have been drawn away against the winner of the Tranmere Rovers and Southport FC replay which will take place on December 11th.

Drawing a smaller team in the cup is definitely a good thing. Some young players will get a chance to play that they wouldn’t otherwise get. If they advance, Spurs will see bigger teams later in the competition.

The replay between Tranmere and Southport will take place in Southport after the teams drew 1-1 in the first game.

Tranmere are in League Two, while Southport are members of the sixth tier of English football: National League North. The Sandgrounders (yes, that is actually Southport’s nickname) aren’t even doing well in their league this season. They’re currently occupying the place just above the relegation zone. Tranmere are a bit better off. They’re eighth in League Two at the moment.

Playing away to lower league opposition always brings up the issue of pitch quality. Tranmere play at the decently-sized Prenton Park (16,587), while Southport’s Haig Avenue ground is a smaller stadium (6,008). Hopefully whichever pitch the game is played at will be in better shape than Rochdale’s was last season.

Here’s the full draw for the third round in its entirety:

• Bolton v Walsall or Sunderland
• Millwall v Hull
• Gillingham v Cardiff
• Brentford v Oxford
• Sheffield Wednesday v Luton
• Manchester United v Reading
• Everton v Lincoln
• Tranmere or Southport v Tottenham
• Preston v Doncaster
• Newcastle v Blackburn
• Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
• Crystal Palace v Grimsby
• Derby v Southampton
• Accrington Stanley v Ipswich
• Bristol City v Huddersfield
• Wrexham or Newport v Leicester
• Fulham v Oldham
• Shrewsbury v Stoke
• Solihull Moors or Blackpool v Arsenal
• Manchester City v Rotherham
• Bournemouth v Brighton
• West Ham v Birmingham
• Woking v Watford
• Burnley v Barnsley
• QPR v Leeds
• Sheffield United v Barnet
• Norwich v Portsmouth
• Guiseley or Fleetwood v Wimbledon
• West Brom v Wigan
• Middlesbrough v Peterborough or Bradford
• Wolves v Liverpool
• Aston Villa v Swansea