It’s a new year and in English football, that means one thing: it’s time for the third round of the FA Cup to get underway. The oldest club competition in the world is ready to welcome the big boys as we continue on the long road to Wembley. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be an exciting clash between West Bromwich Albion and Aldershot Town.
West Brom Form GuideWest Bromwich Albion’s reputation as a yo-yo team has taken a bit of a hit in recent times. Their fans fondly remember the glory days but for whatever reason, they haven’t been able to bounce back up from the Championship as frequently as they used to. Now, they face the kind of tie that all teams dread, knowing they can’t afford anything other than a comprehensive win.
After beating Rotherham 2-0, West Brom were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke before losing a tight game 1-0 to Middlesbrough. They followed that up with nice wins over Norwich and Leeds, but they couldn’t sustain their momentum as they slipped to a 1-0 loss courtesy of Swansea.
Aldershot Form GuideAldershot Town have spent a decent amount of time lingering in the fifth tier of English football, and they’re deserate to make a push for League 2 once again. While it’s been a tricky decade or so, there’s still a lot of hope in the air - especially given the FA Cup run that they’ve been on. Who knows what can happen if they pull off something special at The Hawthorns.
In the fourth qualifying round of the competition, Aldershot tore through Lewes with a comfortable 4-1 victory. Then, they played out an absolutely insane game with Swindon, winning 7-4. They kept their magical run going with a 2-2 draw against Stockport before edging past the League Two leaders 1-0 in the replay.
Match PredictionWest Brom are obviously the clear favourites here but we can’t help getting swept up by the magic of the cup. Aldershot are not going to come in and lie down for the Midlanders and for that reason, the prediction we’re willing to go for is over 2.5 goals scored.
