It’s time for one of the biggest weekends in the English football calendar, as the FA Cup Third Round sees the entrance of the big beasts from the English Premier League.
A packed programme of Cup fixtures takes us from Thursday night right the way through to Monday, with the 24 Championship teams also introduced for the first time this season, alongside the lower league dreamers that have made it through the early rounds.
No plucky underdogs on Sunday afternoon, though, as EPL title contenders Arsenal and Liverpool go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium.
They collide in north London with neither having gone beyond the Fourth Round last time around.
Reigning champions Manchester City are also in Sunday service, mounting their title defence at the Etihad Stadium with a home game against Championship strugglers Huddersfield.
Monday night’s match wraps up the round, when ailing Manchester United seek to put their league woes to one side when they make the short visit to League One Wigan, who narrowly avoided a giant killing at Non League York City in Round Two.
Nowhere will the intensity be greater than in the north east on Saturday, where Sunderland and Newcastle renew hostilities in their Wear-Tyne derby at lunchtime, with the pressure mounting on Toon Army chief Eddie Howe.
Aston Villa will make an appearance just down the road from the Stadium of Light later in the day, when they face a potential banana skin away to Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough.
Chelsea will also have to be on their guard when they welcome second tier Preston to Stamford Bridge, with anything less than a win cranking up the heat on Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino.
A trio of all-Premier League ties kick off the long weekend, with Tottenham hosting Burnley on Friday night, alongside the game between Brentford and in-form Wolves.
Crystal Palace play Everton at Selhurst Park on Thursday evening, while Friday’s third match also takes place in London, as Fulham play host to the Championship’s bottom side, Rotherham.
Elsewhere on Sunday, West Ham take their excellent recent form into their home tie with impressive second tier club Bristol City, while Nottingham Forest play Blackpool and Luton host League One fliers Bolton.
Social media darlings Wrexham are influencing the FA Cup once again under the ownership of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
They make the short hop across the Welsh border for a local derby with Shrewsbury, who are mid table in the third tier.
It’s a big day out for Aldershot of the National League, too, as they head north to play Championship side West Brom at The Hawthorns, while Leeds complete Sunday’s action with an away tie at goal-mad Peterborough of League One.
Saturday’s packed Cup programme kicks off in south London, as Premier League promotion hopefuls Ipswich travel to AFC Wimbledon, whose original incarnation stunned Liverpool to win the 1988 Wembley final.
Maidstone are the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and will fancy their chances of springing another upset in Kent, with Stevenage the visitors.
Championship hosts EPL elsewhere, meanwhile, with Queens Park Rangers tackling red-hot Bournemouth and Stoke going up against Brighton at the bet365 Stadium.
It’s two rungs easier for Sheffield United, in theory at least, as the Premier League’s bottom club go to fourth tier Gillingham.
The Blades’ arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday enter with a home tie against Cardiff, while Millwall meet Leicester and Hull host Birmingham, fresh from sacking superstar boss Wayne Rooney, in a trio of all-Championship fixtures.
Chesterfield and Eastleigh, the other two remaining National League clubs, are both on the road with games away to Watford and Newport respectively.
And it’s home ties all round for the rest of the second tier teams, with Coventry facing a tough examination at home to Oxford, while Blackburn welcome Cambridge to Ewood Park.
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Bristol Rovers make the long trip east for a Carrow Road date with Norwich, as Southampton play Walsall, Plymouth host Sutton and Swansea go up against Morecambe in south Wales.