STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW: FA Cup 2026

There are few things in football like the magic of the FA Cup third round, and with the Premier League and Championship sides entering the fray, it’s the perfect time to look for this season’s winner, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI. 

Whilst we can look forward to a cupset or two, at the business end, the FA Cup has been a preserve of English football’s elite for the past 20 years. Only five clubs outside the ‘big six’ (Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool) have won the trophy since 1994-95, and Leicester were fifth in the League when they beat Chelsea in the 2021-21 final, whilst last year’s winners Crystal Palace had an exceptional record against big opposition and the finest team to play in the club’s history.

So whilst there’s nothing wrong with taking an outsider – plenty of clubs have reached the final at big prices – the top of the market looks the place to search for the best winning shot. The best approach may well be to have three teams onside in the hope of having at least one reaching the big day out at Wembley in May.

The second is the state of the Premier League table. Arsenal are currently six points clear of Manchester City and Aston Villa, who have their a nine point gap on Liverpool. Only eight points separate fourth placed Liverpool to 15th placed Bournemouth, and the bottom three all look certain to go down at this stage – Nottingham Forest are seven points clear of 18th placed West Ham. This gives nearly all of the ‘mid-table’ Premier League sides a free run at the cup this year, something to consider especially if taking a chance at bigger priced sides.

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FA Cup 2025-26
Live on BBC Sport, iPlayer, and radio / TNT Sports & Discovery+

Schedule:
Third Round Proper: Saturday 10 January 2026
Fourth Round Proper: Saturday 14 February 2026
Fifth Round Proper: Saturday 7 March 2026
Quarter Finals: Saturday 4 April 2026
Semi-Final: Saturday 25 April 2026
The Final: Saturday 16 May 2026
*Subject to change

PAST WINNERS & RUNNERS UP:
2024-25 FA Cup Final: Crystal Palace (won 1-0 against Manchester City)
2023-24 FA Cup Final: Manchester United (won 2-1 against Manchester City)
2022-23 FA Cup Final: Manchester City (won 2-1 against Manchester United)
2021-22 FA Cup Final: Liverpool (won 6-5 on penalties against Chelsea)
2020-21 FA Cup Final: Leicester City (won 1-0 against Chelsea)
2019-20 FA Cup Final: Arsenal (won 2-1 against Chelsea)
2018-19 FA Cup final: Manchester City (won 5-0 against Watford)
2017-18 FA Cup final: Chelsea (won 1-0 against Manchester United)
2016-17 FA Cup final: Arsenal (won 2-1 against Chelsea)
2015–16 FA Cup final: Manchester United (won 2–1 against Crystal Palace)

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An ever expanding football calendar will also play a role here – the expanded European competitions all involve Premier League teams, with the potential for some clubs to be involved in the preliminary rounds (like Crystal Palace in the Conference League).

Manchester City are due for a busy time of things with a title race against Arsenal, a League Cup semi-final against Newcastle and a likely spot in the Round of 16 for the Champions League as things stand. A third round tie at home to Exeter City is a godsend for Pep Guardiola and they should go far but at 4/1 with starsports.bet they don’t offer any value at this early stage.

Arsenal have plenty of interest in making a bold bid for the cup – Mikel Arteta will be desperate to cap off his fine work at the Emirates with trophies this season –but on paper, this is their best chance yet to win the Premier League and they have a big shout of Champions League glory. Their squad has been improved a lot over the summer so they will be able to rotate, but the league will be the number one aim, they are in a League Cup semi-final already, and a busy spring awaits for them so others make more appeal.

Liverpool have recovered a bit of their form after a nightmare run in early winter but recent draws against Leeds and Fulham show there’s still more work to be done and they remain vulnerable at this point. A second string side was beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace at Anfield in the League Cup earlier this season and others make more appeal.

Chelsea should be able to make their way through Charlton with Liam Rosenior at the helm and if the ex-Strasbourg man can get to grips with life at Stamford Bridge, then they’d make for an attractive proposition. The sheer amount of squad depth at their disposal – they were able to win the Conference League last season with what was almost an alternative first eleven – will mean they should be able to field a competitive side regardless of how busy their fixtures get in late spring (currently set to be in the knockout play-offs), and it’s also helped them reach the semi-finals of the League Cup to boot.

Their biggest downside is the potential for disciplinary issues – a red card didn’t help them when they were beaten 2-1 at Fulham in midweek – but few sides will be able to have the strength in depth they do and they have potential to go much shorter here.

Having no European football makes Manchester United of serious interest on paper – going forward they certainly have enough quality to make a serious run – but the turmoil in the background after Reuben Amorim’s departure doesn’t bode well and they were hardly impressive when drawing 2-2 at Burnley. A third-round fixture against Brighton, even at Old Trafford, is one of the hardest draws for a Premier League team.

Newcastle landed the Carabao Cup last season to break their trophy drought and are more than capable at their best, but their away record this season – only 3 wins from 13 games, with six losses) is a big concern and a third-round tie against Bournemouth is a tricky opener. Sunderland’s visit to Everton is a hard game to call – Sunderland would make more appeal of the pair given Everton’s lack of goalscoring performance but the draw has been tricky with them having to visit Bramley Moore-Dock this weekend.

Aston Villa have a tough third-round draw – no fan would have chosen a trip to Tottenham to start their FA Cup campaign – but if they are able to progress then they are easily one of the more attractive frontrunners. Villa are in line to go straight to the Round of 16 in the Europa League at the time of writing and whilst they are chasing the title at the moment (their form demands that they are seen as title contenders), this could easily be the most achievable silverware here.

Villa faded towards the end of last season which is the worry here but they reached the semi-finals before being beaten by Crystal Palace and this year they won’t have the extra effort needed to compete in the Champions League which could make all the difference. If they are able to make it past an out of sorts Tottenham side this weekend, then 16/1 is likely to look generous with starsports.bet, especially if they can get a favourable home draw or two.

Last but never least, Brentford could benefit from the packed nature of the Premier League table. They currently sit fifth in the table after a run of four wins in five games, a testament to the work that Keith Andrews has done after having to replace Thomas Frank, whilst also losing Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard to boot.

The downside for them is that their form has nearly all come at home with seven wins and three draws from 11 home games, so luck with the draw will be needed, but a third round start at Sheffield Wednesday is perfect and they can give this competition full attention. If that’s the case then they are surely overpriced.

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PROFIT/LOSS (JAN 2026): -7.20 points

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