ASTON VILLA’S WRETCHED season continued on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by fourth-tier minnows Wycombe Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup.
Eleven points adrift of safety at the foot of the Premier League table, Villa took a 22nd-minute lead at Adams Park when visiting skipper Micah Richards steered home a square pass from Carles Gil.
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But Wycombe, 54 places below Villa in the English league system, equalised five minutes into the second half via a Joe Jacobsen penalty after Ashley Westwood had been penalised for an aerial challenge on Matt Bloomfield.
The outcome is a money-spinning replay for Wycombe, sixth in League Two, which is an encumbrance that Villa manager Remi Garde could do without.
Holders and Premier League leaders Arsenal began their quest for a third successive FA Cup — a feat last achieved by Blackburn Rovers between 1884 and 1886 — when they host Sunderland later on Saturday.
Manchester City visit Norwich City in one of the round’s four other all-top-flight ties, while Southampton host Crystal Palace and Newcastle United go to Watford. Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City meet on Sunday.
Manchester United face lower-league opposition in the form of third-tier cup specialists Sheffield United, who reached the League Cup semi-finals last season and the FA Cup last four the year before.
Liverpool were taken to a replay by fourth-tier Exeter City on Friday, Brad Smith’s 73rd-minute equaliser sparing Jurgen Klopp’s youthful side from an ignominious exit.
Villa taken to FA Cup replay by lowly Wycombe
Updated at 14.50
ASTON VILLA’S WRETCHED season continued on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by fourth-tier minnows Wycombe Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup.
Eleven points adrift of safety at the foot of the Premier League table, Villa took a 22nd-minute lead at Adams Park when visiting skipper Micah Richards steered home a square pass from Carles Gil.
But Wycombe, 54 places below Villa in the English league system, equalised five minutes into the second half via a Joe Jacobsen penalty after Ashley Westwood had been penalised for an aerial challenge on Matt Bloomfield.
The outcome is a money-spinning replay for Wycombe, sixth in League Two, which is an encumbrance that Villa manager Remi Garde could do without.
Holders and Premier League leaders Arsenal began their quest for a third successive FA Cup — a feat last achieved by Blackburn Rovers between 1884 and 1886 — when they host Sunderland later on Saturday.
Manchester City visit Norwich City in one of the round’s four other all-top-flight ties, while Southampton host Crystal Palace and Newcastle United go to Watford. Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City meet on Sunday.
Manchester United face lower-league opposition in the form of third-tier cup specialists Sheffield United, who reached the League Cup semi-finals last season and the FA Cup last four the year before.
Liverpool were taken to a replay by fourth-tier Exeter City on Friday, Brad Smith’s 73rd-minute equaliser sparing Jurgen Klopp’s youthful side from an ignominious exit.
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1-1 Barclays Premier League FA Cup Disastrous season League Two off form Premier League Aston Villa