Howe’s last game? Ten Hag, Man Utd desperate for escape? Six pre-FA Cup third round narratives

Rejoice! FA Cup third-round weekend is here! Before a busy few days of cup action, six narratives include Sunderland looking to hammer a nail in Eddie Howe’s coffin.

Under-fire Thomas Frank needs FA Cup respite

A FA/Carabao Cup run can provide welcome respite for an underperforming manager or club. A couple of Premier League bosses (including Man Utd‘s under-pressure Dutchman) will hope to be beneficiaries of this feeling and Frank is one of them.

Having done a remarkable job of ensuring Brentford have become part of the established furniture in the Premier League, the respected Dane is starting to come under scrutiny as his side sleepwalks into a relegation battle.

After finishing 9th last season, there was bound to be some drop-off at least during the first half of this campaign while they are without 20-goal striker Ivan Toney. But after a steady start, a run of seven losses in eight matches leave the Bees just four points above the bottom three.

Kicking off their FA Cup campaign with a home tie against high-flying Wolves, they need a win by any means necessary ahead of the return of £80m-rated Ivan Toney, who – which is hardly a surprise given their ongoing woes – Frank is desperate to keep this month.

Spurs to repeat Carabao mistake?

The arrival of Ange-ball in the Premier League has been a joy to behold and the Australian’s thrilling style of play has (largely) translated to positive results on the pitch as they are currently in Champions League qualification contention.

While he’s been impacted by injuries more than most, Postecoglou has benefitted from being able to put all of his eggs in the Premier League basket following Tottenham’s failure to qualify for Europe last season.

But Spurs’ lack of European action has freed them up to focus on a cup run, so it would have been disappointing that they exited the Carabao Cup in the second round against Fulham on penalties last August.

With Spurs still without a trophy since 2008, one of Postecoglou’s priorities will surely be to end the club’s prolonged drought. So with one chance gone already, he needs to take the FA Cup seriously because if both cup competitions go down as major missed opportunities at the end of this season, it would be a blot on the likeable manager’s debut season.

Potential derby day misery threatens Howe

Speculation regarding Howe’s future has grown in recent weeks with the Newcastle United boss now the third favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.

Having done a brilliant job up until this season, there is an argument to be made that Howe should still have credit in the bank at St James’ Park. But after losing seven games in eight (a run that’s seen them exit the Champions League and Carabao Cup and slump in the Premier League), Newcastle’s season is drifting into mediocrity.

The last thing Howe needs now is a renewal of the rivalry with Sunderland and a first visit to the Stadium of Light since 2015, but that is what the under-fire manager is getting on Saturday in the FA Cup.

While Newcastle are down in the dumps, Sunderland have a new manager in Michael Beale and while he wasn’t the most popular appointment, they are unbeaten in three games under him (two wins, one draw) and the Black Cats will be champing at the bit to get one over their old foes.

Ninth-placed Newcastle could do with a memorable FA Cup run, but if their woes continue against Sunderland before they face Man City and Aston Villa, serious questions will be asked of Howe, who may get his P45 earlier than we all would have imagined at the start of this season.

OPINION: Eddie Howe sack? Newcastle ‘slump survival’ claim trumped by PIF desire ‘to be number one’

Will Eddie Howe survive the Newcastle slump?

Wrexham to repeat 22/23 cup run?

Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have split opinions since arriving at Wrexham, with some blurred by jealousy while not seeing the actual picture of this feel-good footballing story.

The haters of Wrexham will be sick to the stomach upon learning that the Welsh outfit have gone from strength to strength following their return to the Football League. Sitting third in League Two, they are also on course for another FA Cup run after they reached round four in 2022/23.

After beating Mansfield Town and Yeovil Town to reach this stage, a winnable away tie at League One side Shrewsbury Town awaits Wrexham on Sunday afternoon before a more tantalising potential draw against a Premier League opponent could come in the fourth round.

Arsenal vs Liverpool: The B team sequel

Only two weeks have passed since the last meeting between Liverpool and Arsenal, but plenty has changed in that time.

Billed as a class of two sure-fire Premier League title rivals, Liverpool have since moved three points clear at the top, while Arsenal’s slump into ‘bottle job’ territory has started early following two consecutive defeats. All the while, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are recovering their robotic tendencies as they lurk ominously in third place.

Ahead of Man City’s inevitable winning run which will stretch over at least 15 games, this FA Cup weekend provides a breather for title contenders Arsenal and Liverpool.

While their clash a fortnight ago was a high-quality contest between two of the strongest outfits in Europe, an FA Cup classic is not a guarantee when the two usually giving sides face off this weekend. The standard of the tie is unlikely to be as high with their B teams on the pitch.

Wigan’s FA Cup winner takes on Erik ten Hag

Manchester United’s only remaining hope of silverware in 2023/24 (yes, I’m being bold enough to say they won’t win the Premier League) lies with the FA Cup.

Standing in their way at the first hurdle is League One side Wigan Athletic, who beat Manchester City in a major FA Cup final shock to win the trophy in 2013.

Shaun Maloney – who started for the 2013 winners at Wembley – is now Wigan’s manager. Having overcome an eight-point deduction to move the Latics away from relegation trouble, the 40-year-old is doing an impressive job in difficult circumstances.

He is certainly faring better at his club than Ten Hag is at Man Utd, who reverted to type in the defeat to Nottingham Forest after showing rare signs of fight in their comeback win against Aston Villa.

The Red Devils’ ongoing inconsistency suggests they’re unlikely to end up much higher than eighth this season so with European football potentially off the table (again), a much-needed solid performance or two in the FA Cup is required to offer an escape for Ten Hag and his side before Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s mass overhaul in the summer.

With that said, United’s woes being compounded by a depressing 1-0 loss to League One opposition en route to a premature FA Cup exit would be very in character.