The oldest cup competition in the world is back in its 152nd year. Here’s how Australian football fans can catch all the action.
Viewed by many as the most prestigious cup competition in world football, the FA Cup has been around longer than moto vehicles.
For England’s top sides, it is a chance to add cherished silverware to their cabinet. For sides lower down the divisions, it’s a chance to host one of the football’ heavyweights under the bright lights.
While the first and second round propers occur early in Spring, it takes until January for sides from the Premier League and Championship to enter the fold.
It’s around this time that the fixture list becomes jam-packed, with sides at the top of the Premier League often competing in multiple competitions at once.
So as it approaches crunch time in the English football season, we’ve knocked out a complete guide to watching the FA Cup.
How to watch the FA Cup
Australian viewers of the FA Cup can find the premier cup competition available for streaming on Paramount+.
The streaming platform will only show eight live games in each of the first and second proper rounds.
However, from the third round proper onwards, once the clubs from England’s top two divisions enter, it will show every game live.
Highlights, as well as round draws and match previews, can also be accessed via 10Play.
When is this season’s FA Cup final?
Sunday, May 26, 2024
The 2024 FA Cup final is confirmed for Saturday 25 May, UK time. This means it will be held in the early hours of Sunday 26 May for Australian viewers.
For context, the 2023 FA Cup final kicked off at midnight on 4 June.
Who are this year’s top contenders?
As always, it’s hard to go past Manchester City as the clear-cut favourites to take home the prestigious cup. Pep Guardiola has the deepest squad in England, and in Erling Haaland he has the goalscoring equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic character, the Terminator.
The Norwegian has improved City’s capacity in knockout competitions. Even when he doesn’t score, his presence alone is frightening enough to occupy the minds of every defensive minded adversary.
City may be limited by the absence of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. The two veterans scored all of City’s goals in last season’s final and semi-final.
In the event the pair’s departures leave City vulnerable, there are plenty of sides up to the task.
Manchester United may be a bit of a mess. Erik Ten Hag, however, has the mop and bucket working over time. They may not be the most functional side, but they’re stacked with potential match winners.
A fully fit Tottenham Hotspur shouldn’t be ruled out either. James Maddison and Heung-Min Son are the league’s deadliest duo when fit, and under Ange Postecoglou they were firing to start the season.
Spurs’ trophy desires will be increased by their lack of success. It’s been three decades since the club have tasted FA Cup success, and the potential to taste it again come the end of the season could prove irresistible.
Liverpool and Arsenal, both sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League, cannot be ruled out. However, unlike Spurs and Manchester United, their sights could be firmly set on the Premier League and European glory come the end of the year.
This could see both Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta place FA Cup glory on the priority backburner as they hunt for a different kind of glory.
Should they target as many trophies as possible this season both managers can draw from some of England’s finest talents.
Mohamed Salah is having a career best year, helped by Darwin Nunez and a successful midfield rebuild that has Dominik Szoboszlai more adored by Liverpool fans than any midfielder since Steven Gerrard.
For Arteta, Bukayo Saka’s climb to the footballing summit is continuing, even in the face of intensified defensive coverage. On the other flank, Gabriel Martinelli is one of the great footballing handfuls, capable of twisting defences inside and out.
And in Declan Rice, the Spaniard can call upon one of England’s finest midfielders with the ability to break open games with his effective, driving dribbles, and increasingly improving passing. On the other end of the ball, his intelligence and physicality mark him as an elite midfield destroyer.
Of the rest of the pack, Newcastle are fast becoming a formidable force in both England and on the continent. Chelsea’s push for silverware could send them down the FA Cup path, and they have enough potential match winners to do so.
Brighton are another of the hunting pack that could be capable of winning, should their injuries and congested fixtures clear up. At the moment though, a title push for De Zerbi’s men feels as possible as Real Sociedad winning the competition.
Who won the FA Cup last year?
Manchester City
Manchester City won the FA Cup on their way to a historic treble. They beat cross-town rivals, Manchester United, 2-1 through two Ilkay Gundogan strikes 50 minutes apart.
It was a result that confirmed the divide between the two sides. Critics will argue their run to the final was relatively easy, playing then-Championship clubs Burnley and Sheffield United.
City dispatched of the former 6-0 in the quarter-final, courtesy of a Haaland hat-trick. It was another trio of goals, this time from Riyad Mahrez, that sent Sheffield United packing in the semi-final.
It was almost unfair how easily City could dispatch teams last season. Are they even better this year?
