It’s that time of year again! It’s the period of overlap, for the bigger clubs, between the two domestic cup competitions. Yes, if you’re in the higher portion of the FA pyramid, then you might be playing in both the League Cup and the FA Cup this week/weekend. Although this isn’t the case for the claret and blue of both West Ham and Aston Villa.
Both the Irons and the Villans have long been eliminated from the League Cup.
FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs
Kickoff: Fri. Jan. 10, 8pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Team News: West Ham United Aston Villa
Starting XI Predictions: West Ham United Aston Villa
Fun Fact: this is the first FA Cup meeting between these two sides since 1980.
How much longer does Julen Lopetegui have left in his current gig? Manchester City are in a total tailspin, but they still found a way to best West Ham, and they did so in emphatic fashion, by the score of 4-1.
That can’t be good for his job security; or lack thereof.
West Ham Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa (FA Cup)
Alphonse Areola; Vladimir Koufal, Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek; Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, Crysencio Summerville; Nicklas Fullkrug
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.