FA Cup 2015: Picks and Key Players for Remaining 3rd Round Matches
The romance of the FA Cup is famous worldwide, as minnows get to rub shoulders with the biggest clubs in English football.
However, Saturday's action failed to produce the expected upsets, with Newcastle being the only top-flight team to exit the competition, falling 1-0 to fellow Premier League rivals Leicester City.
Blyth Spartans almost caused the shock of the day after taking a 2-0 half-time lead against Championship club Birmingham City—only to concede three second-half goals to lose the tie. The three efforts all came in a six-minute spell as the non-league side capitulated.
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Here, we review the remaining cup matches on the schedule, providing you with predictions and key players to watch out for:
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Dover v Crystal Palace | 1-4 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | QPR v Sheffield United | 2-1 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Sunderland v Leeds United | 1-1 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Aston Villa v Blackpool | 2-0 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Manchester City v Sheffield Wednesday | 5-1 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Southampton v Ipswich Town | 2-1 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Stoke City v Wrexham | 2-0 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Yeovil v Manchester United | 1-3 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Chelsea v Watford | 3-0 |
| Sunday, Jan. 4 | Arsenal v Hull City | 2-1 |
| Monday, Jan. 5 | Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur | 1-0 |
| Monday, Jan. 5 | Wimbledon v Liverpool | 1-4 |
| Tuesday, Jan. 6 | Everton v West Ham | 2-2 |
| Tuesday, Jan. 6 | Scunthorpe v Chesterfield | 1-1 |
Key Players:
Radamel Falcao
How strange the world of football can be. Here we are with one of the most famous cup trophies in the history of club football—and the fans of Yeovil are likely to see Radamel Falcao run out onto their hallowed turf at the 9500-capacity Huish Park.
It is a far cry from the glamour of La Liga, or the Superclasico matches between River Plate and Boca Juniors, that Falcao has taken part in—but the fixture is an important one to El Tigre as he looks to climb the proverbial mountain at Manchester United.
The Colombian superstar was surprisingly hauled off early by his manager, Louis van Gaal, during United's 1-1 draw with Stoke City recently, and the confusion was clear to see on the striker's face.
He certainly is not used to having to prove himself to the levels LvG demands of his players.
Falcao has shown nothing but willing during his time at the Red Devils, but it is hard to say whether Van Gaal will take up the option to sign the attacker on a permanent basis at the end of the season.
So far, Falcao's knee seems to be fine after his crushing injury last season at Monaco, but he has struggled to get up to speed with the demanding nature of English football—and the match against Yeovil might provide further culture shocks.
Yeovil currently sit bottom of League One, per BBC Sport, and have achieved no level of good form this season—losing 13 of their 23 league games.
United, on the other hand, sit comfortably in the top four of the Premier League to the surprise of many a pundit and neutral.
Falcao needs to explode in a match such as this and prove to his manager he can be ruthless against inferior opposition.
In years gone by, United would certainly have fielded a weakened team against such opposition, but with no European football to contend with, and a humiliating League Cup thrashing at the hands of MK Dons still fresh in the mind, LvG is likely to go strong with his team choice.
This should put Falcao in line for a starting place, possibly teaming up with United's latest prodigy, James Wilson.
The 28-year-old Colombian should blend well with the talented young striker, and their partnership—if deemed a success—would give Van Gaal food for thought for the rest of the league season.
Harry Kane
It was only very recently that Harry Kane was just a young kid that only Tottenham fans knew about—in the way James Wilson still is at Manchester United.
But the striker is now famous across the country after his recent landmark performance destroyed Jose Mourinho and Chelsea in the Premier League at White Hart Lane.
Kane has been prolific for Spurs over the last 12 months, but it is only now that he is receiving the correct plaudits for his brilliance.
However, the BBC's Jacqui Oatley did highlight Kane's prolific scoring form recently, and asked on Boxing Day just how much more could the Spurs hitman do in the remainder of the season:
Kane's emergence has been spectacular, but now the pressure will increase on the young man's shoulders as expectations rocket.
The cup is always a viable competition for Spurs in terms of success—but a visit to Burnley will indeed be a tough task.
Burnley are likely to target Kane and rightfully so. If they give him the time that Chelsea did recently, he is assured to score.
But Spurs could struggle in this match with a motivated Burnley looking for a win after recently recovering a 2-2 draw with the mighty Manchester City away from home.
They will feel they can match Kane and Tottenham and shut the door on the young striker.
However, if Kane continues to produce the swagger in his play that we have seen in recent times, he will wriggle away from his markers and take his team through to the next round.
But nothing is assured in the FA Cup—the unexpected should be expected—and Burnley could score one of their most famous victories of recent campaigns.
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