With Cardiff facing a two legged League Cup semi final in the next couple of weeks and a promotion challenge, they can be forgiven for making changes this weekend and giving starts to players like Rob Earnshaw who have struggled to get a look in in recent months.
With Premier League survival a key issue for West Brom they are also likely to change things around but as the top flight team the pressure will be on them to get a result especially as they have not scored in their last three games. A good point in a goalless draw with Man City has been followed by defeats against Everton and Tottenham.
What both teams will be looking to avoid will be a replay and another match to an already busy January (especially for Cardiff).
Kick off on Saturday is at 3:00pm. Tickets are still on sale for the match at The Hawthorns.
There are still non league teams in the competition including Wrexham who face a trip to Brighton. Games are being played between Friday and Monday.
Full FA Cup 3rd round fixtures:
Friday 06th January 2012 The FA Cup Third Round Liverpool v Oldham Athletic 20:00 Saturday 07th January 2012 The FA Cup Third Round Birmingham City v Wolverhampton Wanderers 12:30 Dagenham & Redbridge v Millwall 13:00 Barnsley v Swansea City 15:00 Brighton and Hove Albion v Wrexham 15:00 Coventry City v Southampton 15:00 Crawley Town v Bristol City 15:00 Derby County v Crystal Palace 15:00 Doncaster Rovers v Notts County 15:00 Everton v Tamworth 15:00 Fleetwood Town v Blackpool 15:00 Fulham v Charlton Athletic 15:00 Gillingham v Stoke City 15:00 Hull City v Ipswich Town 15:00 Macclesfield Town v Bolton Wanderers 15:00 Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury Town 15:00 Milton Keynes Dons v Queens Park Rangers 15:00 Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers 15:00 Norwich City v Burnley 15:00 Nottingham Forest v Leicester City 15:00 Reading v Stevenage Borough 15:00 Sheffield United v Salisbury City 15:00 Swindon Town v Wigan Athletic 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Cheltenham Town 15:00 Watford v Bradford City 15:00 West Bromwich Albion v Cardiff City 15:00 Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa 17:30 Sunday 08th January 2012 The FA Cup Third Round Manchester City v Manchester United 13:00 Chelsea v Portsmouth 15:00 Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham United 15:00 Peterborough United v Sunderland 15:30 Monday 09th January 2012 The FA Cup Third Round Arsenal v Leeds United 19:45Source: FOOTYMAD
