Mark Lawrenson on whether Tranmere will cause a cup upset against Spurs

BBC football pundit Mark Lawrenson has given his prediction on whether Tranmere Rovers can cause an upset in the fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.

Both sides meet at Prenton Park this evening in the third round of the FA Cup. Tottenham made it to the semi-final last season before they were knocked out of the competition by Manchester United following a 2-1 loss at Wembley and will be looking to go one further this campaign.

This will be the fourth competition which Spurs have appeared in this season and are already fighting on three fronts including the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.

Tranmere play their football in League Two and currently find themselves in ninth place in the table having won 10, drawn 9 and lost 7 of their fixtures so far this season.

Lawrenson, however is tipping Tottenham to book their place in the fourth round with a narrow win against their lower league opponents.

He told BBC Sport: “All the Premier League teams will be resting players this weekend – it is just a question of how many – but I would still expect most of them to make it through.

“Tottenham are one of those that I think will progress. Friday night will be a great occasion at Tranmere, who are back in the Football League now after some tough times, and are doing well in League Two.

“The money Rovers will get for having this tie live on BT will be very much appreciated too and Rovers have definitely earned it after needing replays to get past Oxford City and Southport in rounds one and two.

“Prediction: 1-2.”