Full draw and report
Southampton v Swansea
Arsenal v Manchester United
Exeter v Oxford United
Leyton Orient v Derby
Reading v Burnley
Aston Villa v West Ham
Norwich v Brighton
Manchester City v Salford City
Millwall v Dagenham & Redbridge
Liverpool v Accrington
Bristol City v Wolves
Preston v Charlton
Chelsea v Morecambe
Middlesbrough v Blackburn
Bournemouth v West Brom
Mansfield v Wigan
Tamworth v Tottenham
Hull v Doncaster
Sunderland v Stoke
Leicester v QPR
Brentford v Plymouth
Coventry v Sheffield Wednesday
Newcastle v Bromley
Everton v Peterborough
Wycombe v Portsmouth
Birmingham v Lincoln
Leeds v Harrogate
Nottingham Forest v Luton
Sheffield United v Cardiff
Ipswich v Bristol Rovers
Fulham v Watford
Crystal Palace v Stockport
Ties will be played over the weekend of Saturday 11 January 2025
Third round draw in full
Southampton v Swansea
Arsenal v Manchester United
Exeter v Oxford
Leyton Orient v Derby
Reading v Burnley
Aston Villa v West Ham
Norwich v Brighton
Manchester City v Salford City
Millwall v Dagenham & Redbridge
Liverpool v Accrington Stanley
Bristol City v Wolves
Preston v Charlton
Chelsea v Morecambe
Middlesbrough v Blackburn
Bournemouth v West Brom
Mansfield v Wigan Athletic
Tamworth v Tottenham
Hull v Doncaster
Sunderland v Stoke
Leicester v QPR
Brentford v Plymouth
Coventry v Sheffield Wednesday
Newcastle v Bromley
Everton v Peterborough
Wycombe v Portsmouth
Birmingham v Lincoln City
Leeds United v Harrogate
Nottingham Forest v Luton
Sheffield United v Cardiff
Ipswich v Bristol Rovers
Fulham v Watford
Crystal Palace v Stockport
Well, some belting games in there – the full draw is coming up but the obvious standouts are Arsenal v Manchester United and Tamworth v Tottenham. Man City v Salford, Liverpool v Accrington, Chelsea v Morecambe and Newcastle v Bromley might all be more exciting with the lower-league sides at home, although with replays scrapped, some might prefer the bigger pay day.
And the last three fixtures are …
Ipswich Town v Bristol Rovers
Fulham v Watford
Crystal Palace v Stockport
Birmingham City v Lincoln City
Leeds United v Harrogate (!)
Nottingham Forest v Luton Town
Sheffield United v Cardiff City
Coventry v Sheffield Wednesday
Newcastle v Bromley (!)
Everton v Peterborough
Wycombe v Portsmouth
Hull v Doncaster
Sunderland v Stoke
Leicester v QPR
Brentford v Plymouth
Tamworth to host Tottenham!
The second non-league side, Tamworth are out of the hat … and they’ll host Tottenham Hotspur!
Chelsea v Morecambe
Middlesbrough v Blackburn
Bournemouth v West Brom
Mansfield v Wigan Athletic
Updated
Millwall v Dagenham & Redbridge
Liverpool v Accrington Stanley (who are they?)
Bristol City v Wolves
Preston v Charlton
Exeter v Oxford
Leyton Orient v Derby
Reading v Burnley
Aston Villa v West Ham
Norwich v Brighton
Manchester City v Salford City (!)
Arsenal host Manchester United!
Groans around the Old Trafford suite as United land a trip to the Emirates. Woof!
The draw begins ...
With Southampton v Swansea (the Russell Martin derby) …
Mark Hughes and Dion Dublin are drawing the teams. We’re dangerously close to getting started here …
Ah, here’s Ruben Amorim instead. “Everybody in Portugal who loves football watching the FA Cup … and it has a history for United. Maybe saving their greatest coach, Alex Ferguson, and beating Newcastle to win the treble.”
I take it back, Old Trafford isn’t empty – there are plenty of United fans in attendance, and Cup heroes including Lee Martin and Micky Thomas. No sign of last season’s Cup-winning manager, Erik ten Hag, yet – maybe he’s running late.
Here we go
On BBC Two, Sarah and Vito have finished chatting about their training techniques, which means it’s time to head over to Kelly Somers at an empty Old Trafford …
Ball numbers
1 Bournemouth
2 Arsenal
3 Aston Villa
4 Blackburn
5 Brentford
6 Brighton
7 Bristol City
8 Burnley
9 Cardiff
10 Chelsea
11 Coventry
12 Crystal Palace
13 Derby
14 Everton
15 Fulham
16 Hull City
17 Ipswich
18 Leeds
19 Leicester
20 Liverpool
21 Luton Town
22 Manchester City
23 Manchester United
24 Middlesbrough
25 Millwall
26 Newcastle
27 Norwich
28 Nottingham Forest
29 Oxford United
30 Plymouth
31 Portsmouth
32 Preston
33 QPR
34 Sheffield United
35 Sheffield Wednesday
36 Southampton
37 Stoke City
38 Sunderland
39 Swansea
40 Tottenham
41 Watford
42 West Brom
43 West Ham
44 Wolves
45 Salford City
46 Charlton
47 Exeter
48 Leyton Orient
49 Bristol Rovers
50 Dagenham & Redbridge
51 Accrington Stanley
52 Lincoln City
53 Tamworth
54 Birmingham
55 Mansfield
56 Peterborough
57 Stockport
58 Wycombe
59 Morecambe
60 Bromley
61 Doncaster
62 Reading
63 Harrogate
64 Wigan
Preamble
Is romance truly dead? This season’s FA Cup might lead you think so. For starters, only two non-league sides have made it into the famous third round, an early sign that removing replays might cut the number of giantkilling runs. Fifth-tier side Tamworth did profit from a penalty shootout to eliminate Burton Albion, while Dagenham & Redbridge – above their National League cohorts on goal difference – won at AFC Wimbledon to book their place.
Also, with no live TV game tonight, the draw is not being held in a freshly renovated non-league clubhouse, or sparsely furnished League Two conference room. No, it’s taking place at the home of the holders, Manchester United. They are one of several certified big boys dropping into the draw, eager to snuff out any final sparks of FA Cup fun. Still, the Cup still usually finds a way. The draw begins at 7pm-ish, GMT.
