LONDON –Arsenal begin the defence of their FA Cup title this weekend as the big guns join the competition for the third round. Arsene Wenger’s side, who won the trophy at Wembley by beating Hull City last May, take on the same club again on Sunday. Wenger said Lukas Podolski, who has been linked with a move to Inter Milan, is unlikely to play against Hull. “I will make a few changes, that’s for sure, but he has not practised for a few days - since our game at West Ham because of a tight groin,” he said. “So I don’t think he will be available for Sunday.” Premier League leaders Chelsea, the bookmakers’ favourites to win the Cup, host Championship side Watford. Manager Jose Mourinho is likely to rotate his side but all the big names are wary of slipping up and going out of the competition first time up. Watford are managed by former Chelsea player, Slavisa Jokanovic, and the visitors believe they can cause what would be a massive upset. “We have won the last three games away, which is good for our confidence,” Jokanovic said. “It is going to be a nice day for us and the FA Cup spirit is that you always believe you can win a one-off game. “We will be playing one of the best teams in Europe. We need to have a really good day and for Chelsea not to.” Manchester City take on Sheffield Wednesday, a match that will see Yaya Toure play his last match before heading off to the African Cup of Nations. City manager Manuel Pellegrini said the form of Frank Lampard, who has extended his loan spell until the end of the season, meant City could cope with Toure’s absence. “One of the reasons we asked him to play here was because we knew Yaya would be leaving us to go to the African Cup of Nations,” Pellegrini said. Manchester United travel to Yeovil, having drawn their last three games, a record manager Louis van Gaal knows is not good enough. “When you want to win the league you have to win away from home, and at the minute we aren’t doing that,” he said. “We aren’t losing, but we aren’t winning either. If you want to be a champion, you have to win these games.” Liverpool travel to AFC Wimbledon in what will be a repeat of the 1988 final, famously won by Wimbledon. With Steven Gerrard having confirmed that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, Liverpool are desperate for him to go out on a high. Among the other third-round ties to catch the eye include non-league Dover taking on Crystal Palace. There are three all-Premier League ties, with Tottenham travelling to Burnley and Leicester taking on Newcastle. Agencies Saturday Derby County vs Southport 5pm Bolton vs Wigan Blyth Spartans vs Birmingham City Brentford vs Brighton & Hove Albion Charlton Athletic vs Blackburn Rovers Fulham vs Wolves Doncaster Rovers vs Bristol City Huddersfield Town vs Reading John Rochdale vs Nottingham Forest Cambridge Utd vs Luton Town Millwall vs Bradford City Leicester City vs Newcastle West Brom vs Gateshead Barnsley vs Middlesbrough Tranmere Rovers vs Swansea City Rotherham United vs Bournemouth Preston North End vs Norwich City Sunday Dover Athletic vs Crystal Palace 3pm Sunderland vs Leeds United QPR vs Sheffield Utd Aston Villa vs Blackpool 5pm Man City vs Sheffield Wed Stoke City vs Wrexham Southampton vs Ipswich Town Yeovil Town vs Man United 5:30pm Chelsea vs Watford 6pm Arsenal vs Hull City 7:30pm Monday Burnley vs Tottenham 9:45pm AFC Wimbledon vs Liverpool 10pm Tuesday Everton vs West Ham9:45pm
