FA Cup 3rd-round draw: Chelsea begin defense with Forest visit
Non-league clubs Fakenham Town and Camberley Town were the first to fall back in August. Now, through eight rounds of FA Cup action, 736 entrants have been trimmed down to just 64 places.
The draw for the FA Cup third round proper was conducted at Stamford Bridge, the home of reigning champions Chelsea, on Monday. The Blues will begin their defense by hosting Nottingham Forest.
5 - @NFFC have eliminated the holders of the FA Cup on five of the six previous occasions they've faced them, including beating Arsenal in the third round last season. David. #FACupDraw
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 3, 2018
Arsenal will take on either League One's Blackpool or Solihull Moors, the fifth-tier outfit handled by former England goalkeeper Tim Flowers. Tranmere Rovers and Southport, meanwhile, will contest a replay to determine who faces Tottenham Hotspur.
Woking, the lowest-ranked team guaranteed a spot in the third round, were handed an enticing visit from Watford. Welsh minnows Wrexham and Newport County will squabble over who gets the right to entertain Leicester City.
Here is the draw in full:
- Bolton Wanderers vs. Walsall or Sunderland
- Millwall vs. Hull City
- Gillingham vs. Cardiff City
- Brentford vs. Oxford United
- Sheffield Wednesday vs. Luton Town
- Manchester United vs. Reading
- Everton vs. Lincoln City
- Tranmere Rovers or Southport vs. Tottenham Hotspur
- Preston North End vs. Doncaster Rovers
- Newcastle United vs. Blackburn Rovers
- Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest
- Crystal Palace vs. Grimsby Town
- Derby County vs. Southampton
- Accrington Stanley vs. Ipswich Town
- Bristol City vs. Huddersfield Town
- Wrexham or Newport County vs. Leicester City
- Fulham vs. Oldham Athletic
- Shrewsbury Town vs. Stoke City
- Solihull Moors or Blackpool vs. Arsenal
- Manchester City vs. Rotherham United
- Bournemouth vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
- West Ham United vs. Birmingham City
- Woking vs. Watford
- Burnley vs. Barnsley
- Queens Park Rangers vs. Leeds United
- Sheffield United vs. Barnet
- Norwich City vs. Portsmouth
- Fleetwood Town vs. AFC Wimbledon
- West Bromwich Albion vs. Wigan Athletic
- Middlesbrough vs. Peterborough United or Bradford City
- Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Liverpool
- Aston Villa vs. Swansea City
The third round is scheduled to take place around the weekend of Jan. 5-6, 2019.