FA Cup fourth round draw LIVE: Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, Wrexham and more learn fate

Wigan are an embodiment of the magic of the FA Cup. A local town team from a lower league that, on the right occasion, punches above their weight to take out a giant – usually Manchester City.

Their greatest triumph came in 2013. Roberto Martinez’s side took on City in the FA Cup final at Wembley, edging the game 1-0 thanks to a Ben Watson header in stoppage time that won them the trophy for the very first time.

The following year, with Uwe Rosler now in charge, Wigan journeyed to the Etihad Stadium for the quarter-final and defeated City 2-1. Their trophy defence later ended in a penalty shootout against Arsenal in the final four.

Marine’s 2021 FA Cup run was so far detached from reality that their manager, Neil Young, remembers every kick like a vivid dream.

He can still see the last penalty of the shootout which shocked League Two Colchester United on their own patch in the first round, “one of my greatest memories in football”. He can still picture Niall Cummins’ dramatic 120th-minute winner against Havant & Waterlooville in the second round which sparked “bedlam”, even in an empty stadium in lockdown.

That result was their ninth knockout win of the competition and it put Marine AFC, a volunteer-led club playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North West, into the hat for the third round with some of the biggest team in the world. It was only the second time an eighth-tier side had ever reached that stage of the FA Cup.

Wigan Athletic host Manchester United in the FA Cup third round with the prospect of another giant-killing result on the cards for the League One side. The Latics famously defeated Manchester City in the cup final in 2013 then again in the 2018 fifth round against a Pep Guardiola side featuring Sergio Aguero and David Silva.

Though they currently sit 17th in League One, Wigan have a decently strong side that can challenge the top contenders in the league on their day. Taking on Manchester United is another prospect entirely though manager Shaun Maloney has good memories of facing the Red Devils having scored the goal in Wigan’s only victory over the Old Trafford outfit back in 2012.

Follow live updates for the match right here:

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley suggested Premier League managers who have spoken out against replays, including Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Brentford’s Thomas Frank, should just “get on with it”.

“I can’t go against Jurgen Klopp, he’s the boss!” Critchley, a former Liverpool academy manager, quipped. “But I can’t wait – replay at Bloomfield Road.

“I don’t think they should be scrapped at all. It is so important for football in general. The level now between the Premier League and the rest is getting wider and wider – it is harder to cause an upset.

“It is such an achievement to cause an upset. So if you get a second chance to do it, we’d rip your hand off for that. We are delighted we have got a replay. Yeah it’s a busy schedule, but so what, get on with it.

“This was our 35th game of the season. The Premier League teams haven’t played that. They get international breaks, time off. We don’t. I remember going when there was third games and fourth games – brilliant.

“Get on with it. Look at the resources, the finance, the staffing… we don’t have that. It’s tough, get on with it, let’s play football.”

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo said his side’s winter break plans were in disarray after they were forced to an FA Cup third-round replay by Blackpool at the City Ground.

Forest needed to come from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with the League One side, who beat them 4-1 at this stage last season, meaning the tie will be decided at Bloomfield Road in the week commencing January 15.

The Premier League side were not due to play again until January 20 and were set to spend time together at St George’s Park, but plans will now change, as Nuno became the latest top-flight boss to bemoan third-round replays.

Eventually, Liverpool found their match-winners, even if the first came from a player in white. Without Mohamed Salah for the first time this month, it was a touch off Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior that ensured the Reds advanced into the FA Cup fourth round and avoided a replay against their title rivals, whose winless run extended to a fourth game.

It would have hardly been Jurgen Klopp’s plan - but as Luis Diaz rifled in a late second, it meant Liverpool can now enter a crucial phase of their season without their talisman and leading scorer but bolstered by a big win.

It is Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota who will all need to step up over the next month to cover for the absence of the Egypt captain, as the Reds battle on three fronts in the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Instead, after missed chances, misplaced passes, and a growing sense that Liverpool’s wastefulness was going to cost them, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inswinging corner that was directed past Aaron Ramsdale by the unfortunate Kiwior. If it relaxed Liverpool, Diaz finally brought some composure with a thumping late finish to seal it.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney appear to have FA Cup fever — just like their soccer club Wrexham.

The Hollywood stars were watching from their homes in the United States as Wrexham won 1-0 at local rival Shrewsbury, a team from one division higher in English soccer’s pyramid, in the third round of the famous competition on Sunday.

The Welsh club will find out on Monday its opponent in the fourth round — or the last 32 — and there’s a good chance it will be a team from the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne as exceptional and unique after his impressive return to action in Manchester City’s FA Cup stroll against Huddersfield.

The Belgian playmaker appeared as a 57th-minute substitute and set up a goal as the holders breezed past the Championship strugglers 5-0 in a one-sided third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

It was De Bruyne’s first outing in five months after a long lay-off following hamstring surgery and his comeback is timely as City step up the intensity for the second half of the campaign.

Jurgen Klopp has a habit of conjuring a memorable phrase. He does not restrict his attentions purely to Liverpool. “When Kevin De Bruyne is warming up, the whole country is starting to shake,” the German said last week. When De Bruyne has been warming up, the Etihad Stadium has started to roar. “Oh, Kevin De Bruyne” is scarcely one of the wittier chants around; nor does it need to be. The mention of the man is a reminder of his menace.

After 28 games out, De Bruyne was back. His comeback occurred in the FA Cup but the tremors Klopp referenced might have been reverberating around the Premier League and the Champions League.

He returned in fitting fashion, with an assist 17 minutes into his cameo in the 5-0 victory over Huddersfield, a deft cross that showed precision and vision. Jeremy Doku converted it. “The quality of the assist for the Jeremy goal,” Pep Guardiola marvelled. “We are incredibly delighted he is back.”

Some Premier League managers were not so lucky with their FA Cup third round results and face a replay before knowing if they’ll be heading out of the competition or into the next round. The likes of David Moyes (West Ham), Sean Dyche (Everton) and Gary O’Neil (Wolves) will all be considering plans to fit another fixture into the schedule.

Here are the dates for the the third-round replays:

Tuesday 16 January

Birmingham City vs Hull City

Blackpool vs Nottingham Forest

Bolton vs Luton Town

Bristol City vs West Ham

Bristol Rovers vs Norwich

Eastleigh vs Newport

Wolves vs Brentford

Wednesday, 17 January

Everton vs Crystal Palace