Arsenal kick off their campaign for a record 13th FA Cup crown on Saturday, when they travel to second-tier opponents Preston North End in the competition’s third round. It’s only at this stage that the big boys of English football are parachuted in, and the Gunners will be relatively pleased to have been handed a winnable opening fixture.
Arsenal vs. Preston North End 2017: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Arsenal will hope to avoid an upset away at Preston North End on Saturday.
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That, however, isn’t to say that Arsenal can take their eye off the ball. Preston North End may no longer be one of the serious FA Cup contenders, having failed to reach a final since 1964 and win the thing since 1938, though they’ve made a solid start to the Championship season. Simon Grayson’s men find themselves just six points adrift of the playoffs as it stands, with an outside chance of a Premier League promotion push. They shouldn’t be pushovers.
How to watch, stream, and listen
TV: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. - English); Fox Deportes (U.S. - Spanish); Sportsnet World (Canada); BT Sport 2 (U.K.)
Online streaming: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.); Sportsnet World Now (Canada); BT Sport live streaming (U.K.)
Make friends: Arsenal fans should head on over to The Short Fuse for full match coverage.
For online listings in other countries, you can check out LiveSoccerTV.
Three big things to know
1. North End will be without striker Jermaine Beckford, who is serving a four-match ban. The former Everton and Leicester City striker was sent off three minutes after returning from a previous suspension -- for fighting his own teammate. Calum Woods and John Welsh are both sidelined through injury.
2. Arsenal's injury list is even longer: Santi Cazorla, Chuba Akpom, Mathieu Debuchy, and Yaya Sanogo are all definitely out; Mesut Özil. Laurent Koscielny, Francis Coquelin, Héctor Bellerín, and Theo Walcott all feature on a list of eight names facing late fitness tests. Mohamed Elneny has now traveled to join the Egyptian national team ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.
3. This will be the first meeting between these sides since they clashed in the domestic top flight back in 1960. On that occasion North End ran out 2-0 winners, despite going on to finish bottom of the First Division that season. Arsenal came home in a solid mid-table position, with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur going on to win the title.
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