The reports are in! Thanks for reading this Clockwatch. Stay safe and warm.
Updated
The results
Blackpool 2-3 Nottingham Forest (aet; 2-2 after 90 min)
(Nottingham Forest go to Bristol City)Bristol Rovers 1-3 Norwich City
(Norwich City go to Liverpool)Everton 1-0 Crystal Palace
(Everton host Luton Town)
FULL TIME: Blackpool 2-3 Nottingham Forest (aet; 2-2 after 90 mins)
Morgan can only batter the free kick into the wall, and the whistle goes! Forest survive an epic! Blackpool so brave. They’ll always have Wembley ‘53.
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ET 120 min +3: Wood will be doubly furious now, because Worrall clatters into Morgan just to the left of the Forest box. A free kick in a very dangerous position! One last chance for Blackpool to save themselves!
ET 120 min +2: Vlachodimos punches the corner clear. Aguilera romps up the park. O’Donnell is stranded. Aguilera should feed Wood down the middle, but opts to go for goal himself from deep inside his own half. The ball sails wide left of goal. Wood is furious!
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ET 120 min +1: A Blackpool free kick out on the right. Morgan swings it in long. McKenna nods behind for a corner on the left. O’Donnell will come up for it!
ET 120 min: Blackpool have two minutes to save themselves and force a penalty shoot-out. Forest two minutes to survive and book a fourth-round trip to Bristol City.
ET 119 min: Blackpool throw folk forward but Forest hold their shape. A couple of Husband throws from the left come to nought.
ET 118 min: On ITV, Lucy Ward names Forest vice-captain Ryan Yates as her player of the match.
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ET 117 min: Danilo finds Aguilera down the inside-left channel with a lovely diagonal pass. Aguilera cuts into the middle with a plan to shoot, but the ball breaks back to Danilo, who has a go instead. The dribbler is easy pickings for O’Donnell.
ET 116 min: Wood twists and turns down the left, and flashes a shot into the side netting. Only problem is, the whistle had long gone. Into the book he goes.
ET 115 min: A cross from the Blackpool left. Lyons meets it by flashing a header wide right from the edge of the box. Vlachodimos ushers the ball out. A decent enough effort from distance, though.
ET 114 min: Wood romps after Yates’ long pass down the inside-right channel. He beats O’Donnell to the ball, but can’t flick it past the keeper, who bats it down. So close to putting this tie to bed once and for all.
ET 112 min: Forest again celebrate by holding a shirt up with Cheikhou Kouyaté’s name on it. The Forest and Senegal midfielder has had to leave the Africa Cup of Nations after the death of his father.
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GOAL! Blackpool 2-3 Nottingham Forest (Wood 110)
Danilo battles down the inside-left channel and into the box. He shuttles the ball on for Yates, who from the byline fires low and hard across the face of goal. Wood can’t miss. He walks the ball home from a couple of yards, and Forest lead again!
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ET 108 min: Morgan and Joseph elegantly, and at speed, combine down the left. The latter bombs along the flank. He’s got options in the middle, but, cutting infield, decides to shoot from the edge of the box. Bad decision. Blocked.
ET 107 min: A slow start to the second period of extra time.
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The Forest medical staff who ran to the fan’s aid are now back on the bench, and the referee is preparing to start the second half. Hopes and prayers that these are signs of all being well, that the fan is in good hands and good health. The game restarts.
It looks as though there’s a medical emergency in the section containing the Forest supporters. As the whistle goes for half-time, a few of the players frantically call for their medical folk to sprint across the pitch and assist. God speed to whichever poor soldier is down.
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Blackpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Spot-kick drama a mere quarter-of-an-hour away!
ET 104 min: Forest would rather not go through that drama. Aguilera crosses from the left. Yates blazes over from 12 yards. He really hit that. Had it been on target, O’Donnell would have done well to stop it.
ET 102 min: Neco Williams is replaced by Gonzalo Montiel, who should prove useful for Forest if this game goes to spot kicks. The Argentinian scored the winning penalty in the 2022 World Cup final, as well as last year’s Europa League final for Sevilla.
ET 101 min: Morgan sends Lavery dribbling hard down the inside-left channel. He makes it to the left-hand corner of the Forest D, opens his body, and shoots. The ball takes a huge deflection off a Forest leg and nearly loops hysterically over the stranded Vlachodimos and into the top right. Inches over. It’ll be a corner.
ET 99 min: Toffolo crosses from the left. The ball loops into O’Donnell’s arms. Had Toffolo not faffed around at the very end of added time, Wood would have almost certainly broken Blackpool hearts with the very last kick. But Toffolo gave the referee an excuse to blow the final whistle, and here we all are. Anyway, I digress.
ET 97 min: Lavery threatens to break clear down the middle but Vlachodimos races out of his area to bash clear. Both teams continue to go, go, go for it.
ET 95 min: Aguilera crosses low from the left. Danilo is free on the spot. He flippers a first-time fizzer towards the bottom left. O’Donnell parries sensationally! The flag then goes up for offside as Dominguez picks up the rebound. That’s great play all round.
ET 93 min: Corner for Forest. Williams fires it in long from the right. The ball drops to Dominguez, who creams a rising shot over the bar from a tight-ish angle on the left. That would have been a cracker. It wasn’t too far off target.
Blackpool 2-2 Forest. The first half of extra time is underway. This has been a classic David-versus-Goliath cup tie, in the proper old-fashioned third-round style. Eight goals shared over the piece, more hopefully to come, drama of one stripe or another assured. Here we go!
FULL TIME: Blackpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Toffolo crosses from the left, but the whistle goes. Wood taps into the net, but there’ll be 30 minutes of extra time to come. What a cup tie!
FULL TIME: Bristol Rovers 1-3 Norwich City
Norwich City will travel to Anfield in round four!
Blackpool 2-2 Forest. With two minutes of stoppage time to go, Dembélé has a huge chance to win it for Blackpool! He’s clean through … and attempts to round Vlachodimos on the left … but takes too many touches and eventually finds himself unable to slot from a tight angle. The tie on a plate, there.
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FULL TIME: Everton 1-0 Crystal Palace
Everton will host Luton Town in the fourth round!
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Blackpool 2-2 Forest. Dembélé enters a pocket of space and tees himself up, 20 yards out, but snatches his shot. Easy for Vlachodimos.
Blackpool 2-2 Forest. Williams creams a shot from the right-hand edge of the Blackpool D. Blocked. Five minutes to go now.
Everton 1-0 Palace. Another fine save for Virginia, who has had an excellent game. Schlupp’s header denied. The Toffees have six minutes of added time to negotiate; Palace six to save themselves and force extra time.
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Blackpool 2-2 Forest. There will be ten minutes of added time at Bloomfield Road. Grimshaw required quite a bit of treatment, to be fair. Extra time not a shoo-in yet!
GOAL! Bristol Rovers 1-3 Norwich (McLean 87)
Kenny McLean has surely settled it! Norwich will be going to Anfield next weekend.
Blackpool 2-2 Forest. Lawrence-Gabriel dribbles into the Forest box from the right. He feels Murillo’s breath on the nape of his neck. He goes over and claims a penalty. Come on and come off it, says the referee. Forest, however, are seriously rattled.
Blackpool 2-2 Forest. … but Blackpool aren’t thinking about extra time. They want to wrap this up in regulation, and Lyons comes tearing down the left again, this time winning a corner. Forest eventually manage to clear their lines, but not with any great authority. A grandstand end to this game coming up!
Blackpool 2-2 Forest. Well, well, well. As things stand, we’re heading towards extra time. The look on Nuno Espirito Santo’s face is a picture. Specifically a picture sketched out by Edvard Munch.
GOAL! Blackpool 2-2 Forest (Joesph 78)
Lyons latches onto a throw down the left flank. He loops towards the far stick, a stunning cross that takes Vlachodimos out of play. Joesph rises and heads home from a couple of yards. He couldn’t miss! On a plate! Forest came back from two goals down in the original tie, and now Blackpool have done the same in the replay!
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Everton 1-0 Palace. The away supporters aren’t impressed with their manager, who is informed via the medium of melody that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. That’s the result of his taking off fans’ favourite Eze. As levels of Merseyside-based abuse go, Palace’s manager has had far worse, specifically the chant of “Hodgson for England” sung by Liverpool fans during his Pooterish reign of 2010, so everything in proportion.
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Blackpool 1-2 Forest. It’s a nice, open game at Bloomfield Road. Both keepers in action, Vlachodimos punching clear, the Blackpool sub O’Donnell denying Williams. There are more goals in this. No promises, mind, look what I said about the Rovers-Norwich game.
Everton 1-0 Palace. Virginia has earned his corn tonight, having already saved big from Eze. Now he denies Edouard, who spins on the penalty spot and belts one goalwards. It’s far from over at Goodison.
Bristol Rovers 1-2 Norwich. That was two goals in six minutes for Norwich! Liverpool may be slightly less happy to face the Canaries, who have a surprisingly good record against the Reds in the FA Cup. They’ve been drawn together on six occasions, and it’s three wins apiece. Admittedly City’s victories came in 1909, 1937 and 1951, since when Liverpool have knocked them out in 1986, 1990 and 2022. But stats are stats. Actually, Liverpool went on to win the cup in both 1986 and 2022, so if it’s omens they’re looking for, either Rovers or Norwich will do. I’ll level with you, I don’t know where I’m going with this.
GOAL! Bristol Rovers 1-2 Norwich (Idah 59 pen)
The Gas couldn’t kill off the Canaries, and now look! Jonathan Rowe is brought down in the Rovers box, and Adam Idah fires Norwich ahead from the spot!
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GOAL! Blackpool 1-2 Forest (Morgan 61)
Morgan was at fault for Forest’s second, but he’s made up for it … and how! On the edge of the Forest D, he leans back to meet a dropping ball and creams an unstoppable rising shot into the top left! Vlachodimos was at full stretch, and had no chance!
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Blackpool 0-2 Forest. Blackpool keeper Grimshaw can’t continue, having taken a proper whack on the arm in attempting to stop the second goal. O’Donnell comes on in his stead.
GOAL! Bristol Rovers 1-1 Norwich City (Sara 53)
“Rovers look more likely to stretch their lead than Norwich do to wipe it out.” Pulitzer, please! So yes, of course, Norwich level things up in short order, Gabriel Sara their hero, bundling home after Sam McCallum pinged a shot off the woodwork.
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Bristol Rovers 1-0 Norwich. Rovers look more likely to stretch their lead than Norwich do to wipe it out. Luke Thomas goes close early doors in the second half. “Should the Gas need any more encouragement to beat Norwich, it was their cross-city rivals winning at Anfield (almost exactly 30 years ago) that precipitated the downfall of one Graeme Souness at Liverpool,” recalls Andy ‘Not That One’ Flintoff. Ah yes, Brian Tinnion, whose fourth-round replay winner at Anfield ended Po’ Souey’s reign. A folk hero with City fans, never mind a fair few Liverpool supporters who were only too thankful to see Roy Evans take over.
Blackpool 0-2 Forest. Not sure Morgan should take the entire blame for that goal. He’d been played a hospital pass by Ekpiteta, and was in all sorts of trouble as Forest pressed. Meanwhile to add injury to insult, Grimshaw has hurt his arm in making that futile save from Dominguez. He’s good to continue for now, though.
GOAL! Blackpool 0-2 Nottingham Forest (Danilo 46)
A mere 49 seconds into the second half, and Forest are in full control now. Morgan’s weak backpass is intercepted by Dominguez, who tries to dink past Grimshaw. The keeper saves, but the ball ricochets to Danilo, who rounds the stricken Grimshaw and slots home.
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The second halves are underway! “The big question is whether you can work a James Drury reference into your Virginian riff,” writes Richard Hirst. The answer is sadly no, but if you’re really desperate for some hot-button riffing on ancient NBC dramas, I won’t have to look too far further down the Everton team-sheet to package you a deal.
Half-time entertainment. The man who lifted this trophy in 2022 has done a proper number on himself. Jonathan Wilson pores over the reputational damage in this hot-off-the-press piece.
HALF TIME: Bristol Rovers 1-0 Norwich City
Third-tier Rovers will travel to Anfield in round four, should their Championship opponents fail to respond in the second half.
HALF TIME: Everton 1-0 Crystal Palace
Palace have had a couple of decent chances, but then so have the hosts, for whom Andre Gomes has made the difference with a gorgeous free kick. Everton will be hosting Luton Town in the next round unless things change.
HALF TIME: Blackpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest
As things stand, it’ll be Forest travelling to Bristol City in round four.
Blackpool 0-1 Forest. … so having said that, Blackpool come as close to scoring as they have all evening. A throw comes in from the right. Hamilton takes up possession on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box and fizzes a low ball across the face of goal. Any touch, from attacker or defender, and that’s in. But there isn’t one.
Blackpool 0-1 Forest. It’s been quiet at the seaside. A corner for Forest. It’s half cleared to Dominguez, who sends a shot off in the direction of the Tower.
Everton 1-0 Palace. The visitors try to hit back immediately, Eze combining with Mitchell, who powers a shot goalwards that extends Virginia fully. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
GOAL! Everton 1-0 Crystal Palace (Gomes 42)
Lerma is booked for cynically clattering an in-flight Gomes, who gets up and takes the free kick himself. And how! It curls around Johnstone, off the post, and in. Goodison erupts! The third round is for dreaming, and a first FA Cup since 1995 is on!
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Bristol Rovers 1-0 Norwich. Rovers have been reasonably comfortable since taking the lead. Anfield awaits. But on that subject … “I understand the romance of the Cup, but when you have a Uruguayan striker who can’t buy a goal then Norwich are definitely the team you want him to face,” writes Tom Gould with arch reference to Po’ Darwin. “How many did Suarez put past them?” Just the 12.
Blackpool 0-1 Forest. Rhodes barges his way down the right and wins a corner off Murillo, who skelps the ball in frustration after he runs it out of play. The ball sails into the stand and Murillo immediately holds up both hands to apologise to the crowd. That’s not good enough for some ned who races down to the front of the stand to have his say. Murillo ignores him and continues to say sorry to the section he belted the ball into. Hopefully nobody in the crowd took a whack. Murillo is booked, and nothing comes of the corner.
Everton 0-0 Palace. The visitors finally arrive. Eze, bursting through, has a shot stopped by a golden Virginia save, then Schlupp hoicks a very decent opportunity wide.
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Blackpool 0-1 Forest. Better from Blackpool, who win a corner that’s half cleared. But they keep Forest pressed back, and Morgan is able to have a dig from 25 yards. He doesn’t quite catch it properly, the ball bobbling wide right, and yet Vlachodimos was concerned enough to scramble across before shepherding it out.
Blackpool 0-1 Forest. The Seasiders haven’t responded to falling behind. Forest look much more likely to extend their lead, dominating play right now.
GOAL! Bristol Rovers 1-0 Norwich (McCormick 20)
Great news for the Gas, Richard Woods (8.11pm), and by extension Liverpool (again, see 8.11pm). Luke McCormick shoots from the edge of the Canaries’ box and gives the third-tier underdogs the lead!
Photograph: David Davies/PA
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Everton 0-0 Palace. Harrison goes over in the Palace area and claims a penalty. Neither referee nor VAR shows any interest in awarding one.
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Norwich. Still nothing of note to report. Third-tier Rovers are holding their own against Championship opponents, though. “Ever since the fourth-round draw was made, Norwich fans have been convinced the Gas will win while Gasheads have been equally convinced Norwich will win,” writes Richard Woods. “And everyone agrees that the victors will get pummelled by Liverpool. But really... Liverpool vs the Gas? It just HAS to happen.” Liverpool might not mind that. They’ve only drawn Rovers once before in the cup, and it proved a good omen for them. The Reds won 2-1 in an Anfield replay in 1992: Carl Saunders gave the Gas an early lead, only for Steve McManaman and Dean Saunders to turn it around in the second half. Graeme Souness’s side went on to win the cup.
Blackpool 0-1 Forest. Omobamidele and team-mates celebrate their goal by holding up a shirt in solidarity with their pal Cheikhou Kouyaté, who has left the Senegal camp at the Africa Cup of Nations after his father passed.
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GOAL! Blackpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest (Omobamidele 16)
A corner comes in from the right. Yates flicks on, and Omobamidele, in acres at the far stick, can’t miss. He slams home with a confident sidefoot. What a way to mark your debut!
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Everton 0-0 Palace. Everton come again, and Harrison crosses from the right. The ball only just evades Calvert-Lewin, who certainly isn’t hiding. The hosts slowly clambering on top.
Everton 0-0 Palace. Calvert-Lewin hasn’t scored in 13 matches. He could do with a goal, and very nearly gets one by whistling a shot towards the bottom right. Johnstone doesn’t fancy getting beaten at his near post and turns the ball out for a corner. Nothing comes of that. “So it’s cold?” harrumphs Joe Pearson. “A friend of mine who was an avid runner used to say, ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad preparation.’ Yes, I am a curmudgeon.”
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Norwich. Nothing particularly dramatic unfolding in Bristol either. A slow start to your super soaraway Clockwatch. Probably as good a time as any to remind you that should any match end with the scores level, we’ll go to 30 minutes of extra time and penalty kicks if necessary. Strap yourselves in!
Blackpool 0-0 Forest. Husband makes good down the left but his low cross is hooked clear by Mangala. Vlachodimos hasn’t had his hands warmed yet.
Everton 0-0 Palace. A fairly uneventful start at Goodison. Gomes tries to make himself some space in a crowded box but can only send the ball out for a goal kick. Everton fan Matt Burtz writes: “With Everton’s status in the Premier League extremely questionable right now, a cracking cup run isn’t the worst thing ever, but that requires getting past Palace first. Dyche put out a strong team, hopefully they can get the job done with a minimum of fuss.”
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Blackpool 0-0 Forest. The visitors win the first corner, though, and from that, Murillo steers a header towards the bottom-right corner. It’s not particularly powerful, but Grimshaw sees it late and does well to get down and turn the ball around the post. The second corner comes to nowt.
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Blackpool 0-0 Forest. The hosts start strongly, pinning Forest back in their final third. But there goes that pressure, as Connolly wangs a dreadful cross from the right wing into the sand behind the goal. He had Rhodes in the middle waiting for a decent delivery.
Here we go, then! A dusting of snow across the Blackpool pitch. A slow start as everyone warms up.
The teams are out at Bloomfield Road, Goodison Park and the Memorial Ground! We’ll be off in a minute. “I’m wondering if anyone else heard the gentle acoustic guitar strums of this tune when they saw the name of Everton’s starting goalkeeper,” hums the pop-pickin’ Peter Oh, who clearly didn’t see this shameless Roxy Music pun crowbarred into the Palace-Everton MBM. I’m expecting my Pulitzer in the post any day now.
Weather report. It’s brass monkeys. Minus one in Blackpool, minus one dropping to minus two on Merseyside, minus two in Bristol. All figures in your actual Celsius. On that subject, here’s Shaun Tooze: “I was at the Forest-Blackpool first game and living in Nottingham (but from the north-west) so this has special significance. Also, the coldest I’ve ever been at a game was at a Blackpool 2-3 WBA Championship game a good decade or so ago, so the snow and ice I saw in the picture had my teeth chattering again just from memory. Words of advice to anyone - wear layers and layers for a winter night match. I stupidly went straight from work to catch a train that night. Good game though, despite the shivering for the whole 90 mins+. It was bloody Baltic.”
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Pre-match entertainment. Tonight’s televised match in the UK is the Blackpool-Forest tie, a game with a distinct 1950s flavour. Forest last won the Cup in 1959, when Elton John’s uncle Roy Dwight scored a goal and broke his leg in a 2-1 victory over Luton Town. Blackpool’s only triumph came six years earlier, when they won the most famous final of them all. You can relive that one here in the MBM style.
Everton v Palace teams
Everton: Virginia, Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Onana, Andre Gomes, McNeil, Garner, Harrison, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Pickford, Keane, Danjuma, Beto, Godfrey, Chermiti, Lonergan, Hunt, Dobbin.
Crystal Palace: Johnstone, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Richards, Lerma, Eze, Hughes, Schlupp, Edouard.
Subs: Tomkins, Matheus Franca, Mateta, Ebiowei, Ahamada, Henderson, Riedewald, Adaramola, Ozoh.
Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland).
Tonight's FA Cup Toffees! 🔵@EmiratesFACup 🔵 #EFC pic.twitter.com/VqwkMqKOsa
— Everton (@Everton) January 17, 2024
Our starting XI: CONFIRMED ✅#CPFC | @EmiratesFACup
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) January 17, 2024
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Bristol Rovers v Norwich teams
Bristol Rovers: Cox, Grant, Crama, Taylor, Thomas, Finley, Evans, Vale, McCormick, Martin, Collins.
Subs: Gordon, Sinclair, Marquis, Brown, Gibbons, Hoole, Hall, Shaw, Hunt.
Norwich City: Long, Stacey, Batth, Gibson, McCallum, Sorensen, McLean, Gabriel Sara, Rowe, Idah, Hernandez.
Subs: Sainz, Gibbs, Barnes, Fassnacht, Placheta, Nunez, Gunn, Fisher, Ansen.
Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire).
𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎
— Bristol Rovers (@Official_BRFC) January 17, 2024
Here's how we line-up to face Norwich in our FA Cup Third Round Replay!
💪 Taylor and Collins are back in the XI.
©️ Sam Finley is skipper.
🟦 Gordon and Shaw feature amongst the substitutes.
COME ON GAS! ⛽️#UTG pic.twitter.com/ZmKb9KxY2u
𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕞 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 17, 2024
Your Norwich City team for tonight 👇 pic.twitter.com/qP1pxj7uzw
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Blackpool v Forest teams
Blackpool: Grimshaw, Connolly, Ekpiteta, Husband, Lawrence-Gabriel, Norburn, Morgan, Lyons, Carey, Hamilton, Rhodes.
Subs: O’Donnell, Pennington, Dale, Joseph, Dembele, Virtue, Lavery, Casey, Oakley-Boothe.
Nottingham Forest: Vlachodimos, Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Tavares, Danilo, Mangala, Yates, Dominguez, Hudson-Odoi, Wood.
Subs: Gardner, Turner, Worrall, Toffolo, McKenna, Montiel, Aguilera, Esapa, McDonnell.
Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire).
📋Seasiders name side to face @NFFC
— Blackpool FC (@BlackpoolFC) January 17, 2024
🍊#UTMP pic.twitter.com/xb4xDR215D
Your Reds for the replay 👊
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 17, 2024
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Preamble
It’s a big night in the FA Cup. The three remaining third-round replays, with extra time and penalty kicks if required. Here’s who’s playing, and what fourth-round opportunities are on the line.
Blackpool v Nottingham Forest
(winners go to Bristol City)Bristol Rovers v Norwich City
(winners go to Liverpool)Everton v Crystal Palace
(winners host Luton Town)
All tonight’s games kick off at 7.45pm GMT. It’s all happening!
