There are not many things which Tranmere Rovers and English Premier League giants Arsenal have in common but tonight, fourth tier Rovers are looking to join The Gunners as being the only clubs to defeat Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup in the last 13 seasons.
Rovers meet Spurs in a Prenton Park sell-out in a match which will be screened live in-front of the nation on BT Sport 2.
Prior to this season, Tranmere Rovers have spent the last three years having to qualify for the first round proper during their time as a non-league club while tonight’s opponents Tottenham Hotspur have reached the semi-finals of the competition in both of the last two campaigns.
Spurs’ only third round exit since the 2005/2006 campaign came five years ago when they lost 2-0 to rivals Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium. On that occasion, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky got the goals as Spurs crashed to a rare early defeat in the competition.
Tranmere Rovers have met Tottenham Hotspur on eight previous occasions but they are yet to beat the eight-time FA Cup winners. Spurs have won six of those meetings with the other two ending in draws.
The two clubs last met in the fifth round of this competition in February 2002 with Spurs winning 4-0. On that day, Gus Poyet netted twice for the North Londoners while Christian Ziege and Teddy Sheringham were also on target.
It has been 13 years since a lower division club have beaten Spurs in the third round of the FA Cup with Leicester City winning 3-2 back in January 2006. Tranmere Rovers will be hoping to create new unwanted history for Spurs as they dig deep for their own little piece of cup magic.
