1) Get your nostalgia fill at Gander Green Lane

Cast your mind back to May 1988 and one of the great FA Cup finals – Wimbledon v Liverpool, the Crazy Gang and the Culture Club, Dave Beasant’s penalty save and Lawrie Sanchez’s towering header. Eight months later came another FA Cup moment for the ages, non-league Sutton United stunning then top-flight Coventry City with a 2-1 win in the third round. There’ll be plenty of misty-eyed nostalgia on Saturday as Sutton welcome AFC Wimbledon in the third round – and not just because of those 80s hits. In July 2002, AFC Wimbledon’s first game after the club reformed was away at Sutton’s Gander Green Lane. It ended in a 4-0 defeat – perhaps the only time in football history a heavy loss in a friendly prompted a pitch invasion – but was nevertheless the beginning of a remarkable rise. JA

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sutton United and AFC Wimbledon players head out onto the pitch for the visitors’ first ever football match. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images

2) Stourbridge fly the flag for Northern Premier

Stourbridge are the lowest placed team left in the competition, and by some distance. After Sutton United, the second lowest in the draw, there are 10 further National Premier sides, then 44 teams in National League North and South, and eight further clubs before we find the Glassboys – ninth in the Evostik Northern Premier. This is their first appearance in the third round, having exited in the second three times in the past five seasons, and having battled through seven fixtures to get to this stage – their Cup campaign began against Peterborough Sports at the start of September – they had hoped to land a plum tie. Wycombe Wanderers were perhaps not what they were looking for, despite the Chairboys’ run to the semi-finals in 2000-01. Wycombe took Aston Villa to a replay last year and are flying high in League Two, having gone unbeaten in the league since October. Stourbridge are also unbeaten since the autumn – something will have to give. JA

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3) Eastleigh back for another shot at an upset

Having sampled the FA Cup third round for the first time in the club’s history last season, Eastleigh are back for more. It took an 87th-minute goal from Bolton’s Darren Pratley to deny the Conference side a famous upset last term, and when the BBC chose not to televise the replay, it was made to regret it, with a pulsating tie ending in heartbreak (again) for the south coast club as they went down 3-2 with Pratley once more the Wanderers hero. The club have shown ambition since then by luring the experienced Martin Allen away from Barnet to manage them in what represents something of a coup, and he will take them to one of his old clubs, Brentford, in the hope Eastleigh can go one further than last year. Allen will have to find a deputy for their defensive colossus Reda Johnson, however, who injured a hamstring in the recent National League match against Boreham Wood. Eastleigh enjoy making life hard for Championship opposition when no one is watching. Look out Brentford! GB

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Eastleigh’s Mikael Mandron scores against Swindon in the first round. Is another upset on the cards against Brentford? Photograph: Hunt/ProSports/Rex/Shutterstock

4) An eerie atmosphere awaits Clement and Silva



The FA Cup is often viewed with annoyance by relegation-threatened Premier League clubs but in the case of the new managers at Hull City and Swansea, it may actually be welcomed. Marco Silva, Hull’s new manager, and Paul Clement, Bob Bradley’s successor at Swansea, may find that the tie is a relatively pressure-free occasion on which to make their managerial debuts at the troubled clubs. They can have a look at their new charges and perhaps field a few players on the fringes as they try to find their feet on the touchline. In Silva’s case, the job of rotating will be more difficult, particularly with Hull’s squad being so light, but Clement may find the task a more useful learning process. What’s more, with Hull’s incensed fans planning a boycott in protest at the Allams’ running of the club, the KCOM Stadium will be sparsely populated and hardly representative of the fiery and often angry occasions both men will be central to in the clubs’ upcoming relegation fights. GB

5) History beckons for Barrow

A sell-out crowd at Holker Street will give the National League side their biggest attendance in 27 years on Saturday. It is little wonder there is so much excitement in the industrial Cumbrian town. Marooned as they are on a windswept peninsula that stares out at the Irish Sea, the people of Barrow have few footballing occasions to get this giddy about – although if Paul Cox keeps his side on their steady ascent then promotion to the Football League is a tangible prospect. With Rochdale currently enjoying one of their most successful ever spells thanks to Keith Hill’s shrewd management, the League One club would be some scalp for Barrow as they seek to do what they have never done and reach the fourth round. Dale sold out their ticket allocation in next to no time. There’ll be no apathy shown towards the Cup in Cumbria. GB

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6) Allardyce goes back to Bolton

If anyone could spark a bit of ‘new manager syndrome’ – that brilliant bounce that a new man in the dugout so often provides – you would expect it to be Sam Allardyce. That his spiky, up-and-at-’em approach has not yet had any discernible effect on his Crystal Palace players is cause for mild concern. If dubious Palace fans needed any reminder of what a good manager Allardyce can be, they should get it on Saturday when Bolton Wanderers welcome the Eagles to the Macron Stadium. Allardyce’s near eight years with Wanderers between 1999 and 2007 remains his most successful managerial spell – and it is quite a while ago now. Bolton’s priorities remain promotion from League One – they are currently second – and sorting a still-slightly-shaky situation in the boardroom but will fancy their chances of adding to Allardyce’s discomfort. JA

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sam Allardyce led Bolton to the brink of an FA Cup final in his first season at Bolton, with the second-tier side losing the semi-final to Aston Villa on penalties. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

7) Imps can test Ipswich at Portman Road

If you’re looking for a non-league shock, you might be well advised to keep an eye on events at Portman Road. Mick McCarthy’s ludicrously inconsistent Ipswich side – they have not recorded successive results of any kind since two draws in the middle of August (their record since: WLWDLDLDWLDWLWLDLWLWL) – host the National League leaders Lincoln City. It has not been much fun being a fan of the Imps lately – five successive League Two play-off defeats between 2003 and 2007 were followed by relegation to non-league football in 2011. The club have shown little sign of making their way back since, finishing in the bottom half of the National League in all five seasons. This year, though, has been different, with Danny Cowley’s success as manager at Sincil Bank apparently piquing the interest of managerless Notts County. It’s an awkward tie for McCarthy’s side, who are going nowhere fast in the Championship. JA

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8) Derry and Berry plot Leeds downfall

It was just under two years ago that Cambridge United frustrated Manchester United to the extent that Louis van Gaal claimed “everything was against” them when they drew 0-0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Abbey Stadium. Since then, Richard Money has parted ways with the U’s and Shaun Derry is in charge. The 39-year-old is building a reputation as one of the lower leagues’ more astute young managers, after recovering from being sacked at cash-strapped Notts County a little over a year ago. He has guided Cambridge United to the play-off places in League Two and recently bolstered his coaching staff. He’ll relish a tie against his former club, and in local lad Luke Berry has a midfielder with 15 goals in 29 appearances (four against Coventry in the second round). With Garry Monk’s side focused on earning promotion back to the Premier League they may be ripe for being picked off at the Abbey Stadium, and Derry may choose to attack rather than contain Leeds. Their visit could be about as comfortable as Manchester United’s was in 2015. GB

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Cambridge’s in-form Luke Berry in action against Stevenage. Photograph: TGSPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

9) A red letter day for Burton

Burton Albion have been competing in the FA Cup since 1951-52, when they were a fledgling Birmingham & District League side. Impressively, it was only four years until they reached they reached the third round for the first time (where they lost 7-0 to Charlton Athletic). On Saturday the Brewers are in the third round once again but with one big difference – for the first time, the third round represents the start of their FA Cup campaign. Nigel Clough takes his side to Watford, who have a decent Cup record of late. Three semi-final appearances since 2003 is a handy return for a club of Watford’s size and despite a difficult run (one win in eight) in the Premier League they will be confident of ruining Burton’s red letter day. JA

10) Cup diluted by Christmas scheduling

A knock-on effect of the heavy Christmas scheduling in the Premier League will surely be managers taking the opportunity to rest players this weekend. Manchester United (at home to Reading), Arsenal (away at Preston North End), Liverpool (home to Plymouth Argyle), Chelsea (home to Peterborough) and Tottenham Hotspur (home to Aston Villa) all face lower league opposition and are all likely to field under-strength sides. So, while the chances of a major upset are increased, the impact of any upsets are drastically reduced. JA