FA Cup preview: Northwich Victoria v Charlton

Relegation to League One has its cost, and the cost for Charlton is a little ball with their name on it in the pot for the first round proper of the FA Cup. We're now at the point of the venerable competition where the TV companies first start waffling about dreams and clipping together ankle-splitting-tackle-montages, but not quite at the stage where they appear contractually compelled to show games involving Manchester United every blinkin' round.

Northwich will be eyeing up a shock here, and Charlton will be hoping they don't continue the losing streak they opened with the 3-1 reverse up in Carlisle. The underdogs will have everything to gain and nothing to lose, but they'll also have to climb this particular mountain without the assistance of Mark Danks and skipper Simon Grand, who are both suspended.

For Charlton, thigh injuries keep Leon McKenzie and Fraser Richardson out of the lineup, while on-loan Reading striker Dave Mooney can't play. Their emergency goalkeeper Carl Ikeme won't be on the field either, as Wolves won't let Charlton to cup-tie him for the rest of the competition. As a result, Rob Elliot's back-up Darren Randolph will get his chance.

ITV will be showing the game live at 1.30pm on Sunday, and will probably spend most of the spell before kick-off blathering on about how anything can happen in the FA Cup, up to and including milkmen scoring, part-timers dancing in the locker room and the entire east stand getting drenched in a monsoon of blancmange. Then they'll show a shot of Ronnie Radford's goal for Hereford.