FA Cup third round: Manchester United v Brighton, Liverpool v Barnsley, Macclesfield v Crystal Palace and more to be shown on TNT Sports

A busy weekend of matches will kick off with Wrexham’s meeting with Nottingham Forest, and end with Liverpool taking on Barnsley.

The other ties to be televised are Tottenham vs Aston Villa, Charlton vs Chelsea, Derby vs Leeds and Portsmouth vs Arsenal.

Eight ties will be shown live on linear channels between Friday 9 and Monday 12 January 2026, with all eight of these available to watch on TNT Sports.

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 kick off at 15.00 GMT.

The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round draw will be made live on TNT Sports from Anfield ahead of Liverpool v Barnsley.

Macclesfield’s players celebrate with ‘the robot’ in the dressing room after win against Slough Town

Video credit: TNT Sports

Wrexham v 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 Hotpsur Stadium.

Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring for the hosts after just five minutes, getting Thomas 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 at Chelsea

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 has 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.

James ends Carragher family wait for FA Cup goal

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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 and occupy 22nd, 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 of 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.

Amorim’s side have lost just once since the end of September, and are eyeing a spot in Europe following their lowest-ever 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.

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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+

• 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+?

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