Sports Mole previews the start of Arsenal's FA Cup defence as they host Hull City in the third round, in a rematch of last season's dramatic final at Wembley.

Holders Arsenal begin their defence of the FA Cup on Sunday when they host Hull City in a rematch of last season's memorable final at Wembley.

The Gunners ended their nine-year wait for a trophy with victory in May, but only after the Tigers had seriously threatened to gatecrash the party.

Goals from Curtis Davies and James Chester had put Steve Bruce's underdogs two up inside 10 minutes, before goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny forced extra time.

It was Aaron Ramsey who scored the dramatic winner to relieve Arsene Wenger of the burden that had been the club's silverware drought, but the Arsenal manager is again finding himself under scrutiny.

One fan confronted the Frenchman in his dugout during the 2-0 home defeat to Southampton in the Premier League on New Year's Day - a result which leaves them sixth in the table and 13 points off top.

Wojciech Szczesny was perhaps culpable for both of Southampton's goals, and Wenger has confirmed that the Polish keeper will be dropped for David Ospina ahead of the third-round tie in London.

Injuries may prevent further changes as Arsenal's defensive options remain limited. Further up the field, Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud are all unavailable.

With the under-utilised Lukas Podolski poised to complete a switch to Inter Milan and youngster Yaya Sanogo also in the loan window, top scorer Alexis Sanchez is likely to continue as the central striker.

There could be starts for Nacho Monreal, Francis Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott, who came off the bench against Southampton having recovered from a setback suffered on his long-awaited return.

Hull's primary focus must be on retaining their top-flight status, a goal which has been aided by two wins in their last three games which have lifted them out of the drop zone following a 10-match winless run.

Bruce has his own injury worries and was without as many as eight first-team regulars for the crucial 2-0 victory over Everton, but Tom Huddlestone returns from suspension to bolster the midfield ranks.

He should start at the Emirates Stadium in one of several Tigers changes. Robbie Brady and Sone Aluko are also in contention, while former Sheffield United defender Harry Maguire could make his full debut.

Arsenal needed a 90th-minute Welbeck equaliser to draw 2-2 with Hull at the Emirates in October.

Arsenal:

Form in FA Cup: WWWWDD
Form in all competitions: WWDWWL

Possible starting lineup: Ospina; Debuchy, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Coquelin, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cazorla, Walcott, Sanchez

Hull:

Form in FA Cup: WDWWWD
Form in all competitions: DLLWLW

Possible starting lineup: McGregor; Chester, Bruce, Maguire; Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Meyler, Brady; Aluko, Hernandez

Sports Mole says: 2-1