Tamworth vs Tottenham LIVE: FA Cup team news and line-ups as non-league side host Spurs in third round

Against Huddersfield, Tom Tonks sparked panic in the defence when the non-league team piled bodies onto visiting goalkeeper Chris Maxwell and he aimed his throw under the crossbar. Tonks’ throw found the back of the net as Maxwell flapped at his punch.

“It’s difficult to defend because the trajectory of the ball is something you’re not used to,” Tonks told Football Focus.

“We’re lucky at Tamworth because we have four or five six-foot-plus blokes who want to head the ball.

“What kind of preparation can you do for a Premier League team? We know they are all going to be excellent players.

“We actually fancy our chances against anyone at home. It’s different to what they are used to, the portacabins, the artificial pitch. Funnier things have happened in football.”

A brilliant video from fifth-tier Tamworth showing what Tottenham’s squad of Premier League stars and internationals can expect at the Lamb Ground.

It’s not quite the plush facilities of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A stronger Tottenham team than many expected? Ange Postecoglou does not have much choice in some departments, especially defence, so Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray go again at centre-back.

It’s a first-choice midfield, though, with James Maddison starting as captain. Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski get a rest, but Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner start alongside teenager Mikey Moore.

Tamworth XI: Singh, Crompton, Cullinane-Liburd, Hollis, Cockerill-Mollett, Tonks, Milnes, McLinchey, Morrison, Enoru, Creaney

Tottenham XI: Kinsky; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Reguilon; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Johnson, Werner, Moore

The magic of the FA Cup on full display as kick-off at the Lamb Ground draws near.

The FA Cup third round is underway as Premier League and Championship sides enter the competition for the first time, with 32 ties being played over the weekend.

Cardiff, Fulham and Everton were the first teams to book their spot on Thursday night, before Aston Villa beat West Ham to deliver defeat to Graham Potter in his first game in charge of the Hammers and League One Wycombe also upset Championship Portsmouth on Friday night.

Liverpool comfortably beat Accrington Stanley and Chelsea did likewise against Morecambe but Brentford were upset by the Championship’s bottom club, managerless Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon, while before the pick of the third rounders takes place on Sunday as Manchester United face Arsenal at the Emirates.

Fourth qualifying round: 4-2 vs Macclesfield (7)

First round proper: 1-0 vs Huddersfield (3)

Second round: 1-1 vs Burton Albion (3) – 4-3 win on pens

Third round: vs Tottenham Hotspur (1)

A sports bar is offering free beer for life to any Tamworth FC player who scores the winning goal in the National League side’s FA Cup clash with Spurs.

The Staffordshire side take on the Premier League visitors at The Lamb on Sunday afternoon, with the general manager of the town’s Pitchers Bar describing the unusual incentive as “a little fun” ahead of the all-ticket fixture.

Bar general manager Jason Pegg said: “We’re huge supporters of Tamworth FC, and this weekend’s FA Cup match against Spurs is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the club and the community.

“What better way to show our backing than with a little fun? A winning goal means more than just a place in the record books — it’s the stuff of legends. We want to be part of that excitement, and what better way than offering free beer for life to the player who delivers the magic moment?”

Non-league Tamworth’s clash with Premier League giants Tottenham has all the makings of a “proper” FA Cup third round tie, and the minnows have a “torpedo” of a weapon that may cause one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.

Tamworth are 16th in the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and will host a Spurs side packed with international stars such as Son Heung-min on their sloping astroturf pitch at The Lamb, in a true David vs Goliath encounter.

Tamworth’s journey to the third round included a 1-0 victory over League One outfit Huddersfield, with their winning goal coming from a not-so-secret weapon that opposition players say is “more dangerous than a corner”.

Tom Tonks, a tough-tackling midfielder who runs his own sandwich business, may claim to have English football’s longest throw since Stoke City’s Rory Delap’s trebuchet of a delivery sparked chaos in Premier League defences.

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou will not underestimate FA Cup minnows Tamworth, but has hinted key duo Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke may get an overdue rest on Sunday.

Spurs travel to National League club Tamworth buoyed by a midweek Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool, but are still without at least eight players for this third-round tie.

Tottenham have struggled over the past six weeks with a packed schedule coupled with injury problems, which has resulted in Kulusevski and Solanke starting each of the last seven games.

“We have got to be mindful of we don’t want it to turn into a tricky game for us, we want to make sure we play our best,” Postecoglou said.

“But hopefully we can rest at least a couple of players from a full 90 minutes of football.”