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Nottingham Forest will hope to pull off an FA Cup shock when they take on Premier League giants Chelsea.

But they have been on the receiving end of something of a surprise before a ball has even been kicked.

Despite being drawn against the cup holders for the third round tie, the Reds’ trip to Stamford Bridge has not been selected for TV coverage.

Six games will be shown live when the fixtures take place next month – but Aitor Karanka’s side will not be one of them.

Instead, Manchester United v Reading, Wolves v Liverpool, Woking v Watford, Tranmere Rovers or Southport v Tottenham Hotspur, Solihull Moors or Blackpool v Arsenal and Wrexham or Newport County v Leicester City are the games to have been picked.

All of the third round matches will take place across the weekend of January 4 to 7.

It will be the second year in a row Forest have faced the cup holders, having memorably knocked out Arsenal almost 12 months ago with a 4-2 victory at the City Ground.

In fact, on five of the last six times they have faced the competition’s holders, the Reds have proved triumphant.

Their last clash with Chelsea came last season, when they fell 5-1 on their travels in the Carabao Cup.