In the day’s early kick-off West Ham slipped to a humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest. Sam Allardyce opted to rest a number of his bigger names after a hectic festive period, and was made to pay for his decision as the Championship side raced to a memorable victory. Djamel Abdoun put Forest ahead from the penalty spot after George Moncur had fouled Jamie Paterson to give the home side the lead against a shaky looking Hammers side. The striker then enjoyed his moment in the limelight as he netted a memorable hat-trick before Andy Reid netted a fine left-footed effort late on.
Unlike their London rivals, Chelsea managed to avoid a cup upset on road, as they secured a 2-0 win at Derby. John Obi Mikel opened the scoring on the hour mark, heading home from a Willian free-kick, before Oscar put the game beyond the Championship side with a well struck effort.
Liverpool enjoyed a slightly more routine victory than the Blues in the three o’clock kick-off, as they ran out 2-0 winners at home to Oldham – who knocked them out of the competition last year. Spanish striker Iago Aspas stepped in as Luis Suarez was shifted to the bench for a well-earned rest, and netted the opener ten minutes into the second half with a well-placed volley. Oldham then went close to equalising, before a Raheem Sterling effort deflected into the visitors’ net off of James Tarkowski. The only bad news for the Reds was a late injury to Daniel Agger, who is now a doubt for next weekend’s Premier League clash with Stoke.
Manchester United and Swansea contested the late kick-off with the visiting side securing their passage into the fourth round. Wayne Routledge put the Swans 1-0 up after 12 minutes, but David Moyes’ men responded quickly courtesy of Javier Hernandez. Swansea stole the win with just moments of normal time left as Wilfried Bony headed home a shock winner following Fabio's red card for a high challenge of Jose Canas.
Elsewhere, Sunderland eased past Carlisle with a 3-1 home win, while Port Vale and Plymouth will contest a replay following their 2-2 draw.