About a quarter of the 20/21 season has flown by, and the FA Cup draw has finally taken place. Arsenal face Newcastle United in the third round of the Cup, whereas Aston Villa taking on Liverpool is the most evenly contested fixture on paper, by the Midland club’s performance this season.
Manchester City will face Birmingham City, Chelsea go up against Morecambe, Manchester United face Watford, who now compete in the Championship after being relegated last season.
Spurs have surprisingly managed to draw a team from the eighth tier of English Football, Marine. In a rather even Premier League upper-mid-table clash, Wolves host Crystal Palace at the Molineux.
Here is the draw in its entirety:
- Chorley v Derby County
- Huddersfield v Plymouth
- Marine v Tottenham
- Southampton v Shrewsbury
- Stockport County v West Ham
- Wolves v Crystal Palace
- Oldham v Bournemouth
- Manchester United v Watford
- Stevenage v Swansea City
- Everton v Rotherham United
- Nottingham Forest v Cardiff City
- Arsenal v Newcastle
- Barnsley v Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers v Sheffield United
- Canvey Island or Boreham Wood v Millwall
- Blackburn Rovers v Doncaster Rovers
- Stoke City v Leicester City
- Wycombe Wanderers v Preston North End
- Crawley Town v Leeds United
- Burnley v MK Dons
- Bristol City v Portsmouth
- QPR v Fulham
- Aston Villa v Liverpool
- Brentford v Middlesbrough
- Manchester City v Birmingham City
- Luton Town v Reading
- Chelsea v Morecambe
- Exeter City v Sheffield Wednesday
- Norwich City v Coventry City
- Blackpool v West Brom
- Newport County v Brighton
- Cheltenham Town v Mansfield Town
We will have to wait until January for the third round of the fixtures to be played out. The matches are currently scheduled to be held on the 9th and 10th of January.
As it is with cup ties, the team with the best squad depth manages to progress deep into the competition. Based on current form, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Spurs are among the favourites to make it to the last knockings of the tournament.
