If Rovers manage to overcome Crewe Alexandra in the 2nd round replay of the FA Cup, which was set up after The Railwaymen fought back to claim a 3-3 draw at Ewood Park, they will host Hull City of the Championship who entered the 3rd round as a result of their Championship status.
The 3rd round draw took place live on BT Sport and the BBC, and it saw Slough Town, the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition, reach the 3rd round draw for the first time as they faced up against Rochdale prior to the completion of the draw. In addition to the many non-league sides, which included the likes of Hereford FC and AFC Fylde, the draw also saw the introduction of the Premier League and Championship teams, who many lower league sides hoped to draw.
Rovers – ball #58 in the draw – were drawn at home against Hull City. The game will be played at Ewood Park, if the Blues manage to overcome Crewe, over the weekend of the 5th and 7th of January, with a finalised date to be set in the near future, along with ticket information, once the 2nd round replay, which is scheduled to be played on the 12th December, is complete.
The Tigers, who recently sacked their manager Leonid Slutsky, find themselves sat in 20th place in the Sky Bet Championship, following an abysmal start to the season, which Rovers will be hoping to capitalise on. The last encounter where both sides met, was during the 2015-16 Championship season, where Hull City ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at Ewood Park, and two years later, Rovers will be hoping that such a result won’t be repeated, as they look to mirror last seasons’ FA Cup adventure, which saw the Blues reach the 5th round.
The Rovers faithful will be hoping that they can overcome the struggles of Crewe Alexandra to set-up a very winnable tie, due to the Tigers’ poor form. Simultaneously, Hull will be hoping that Crewe topple Rovers, as Rovers are currently on an 11-match unbeaten run, which would then set-up a tie of two teams struggling in their respective leagues and give both sides the best chance of advancing to the 4th round.
