THE oldest cup competition in football history is BACK – and so are the big boys, with the FA Cup third round draw taking place TONIGHT.
All the Premier League clubs enter at this stage of the competition, after the second-round proper is played this weekend.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and last season’s finalists Chelsea will all be included in the draw, as will holders Leicester.
Leicester overcame Chelsea 1-0 in a hard-fought final last May thanks to Youri Tielemans sensational goal at Wembley in front of just 22,000 people.
- Start time: From 7pm
- Live stream/ TV channel: ITV 4
Follow ALL of the latest updates below…
What teams are in the draw?
All 20 Premier League teams and all 24 Championship teams will be in the hat for the draw on Monday.
And they will be joined by the winners of the 20 fixtures which take place in the second round of the competition this weekend.
Ball numbers
1. AFC Bournemouth
2. Arsenal
3. Aston Villa
4. Barnsley
5. Birmingham City
6. Blackburn Rovers
7. Blackpool
8. Brentford
9. Brighton & Hove Albion
10. Bristol City
11. Burnley
12. Cardiff City
13. Chelsea
14. Coventry City
15. Crystal Palace
16. Derby County
17. Everton
18. Fulham
19. Huddersfield Town
20. Hull City
21. Leeds United
22. Leicester City
23. Liverpool
24. Luton Town
25. Manchester City
26. Manchester United
27. Middlesbrough
28. Millwall
29. Newcastle United
30. Norwich City
31. Nottingham Forest
32. Peterborough United
33. Preston North End
34. Queens Park Rangers
35. Reading
36. Sheffield United
37. Southampton
38. Stoke City
39. Swansea City
40. Tottenham Hotspur
41. Watford
42. West Bromwich Albion
43. West Ham United
44. Wolverhampton Wanderers
45. Yeovil Town
46. Bristol Rovers
47. Port Vale
48. Morecambe
49. Hartlepool United
50. AFC Wimbledon
51. Wigan Athletic
52. Leyton Orient
53. Cambridge United
54. Mansfield Town
55. Swindon Town
56. Rotherham United
57. Charlton Athletic
58. Boreham Wood or St Albans City
59. Kidderminster Harriers or FC Halifax Town
60. Shrewsbury Town
61. Salford City or Chesterfield
62. Plymouth Argyle
63. Ipswich Town or Barrow
64. Harrogate Town
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MORE PREM DATES
Brentford will take on Port Vale, and Wolves must get past Sheffield Utd.
Newcastle will welcome Cambridge Utd to St James’ Park.
And Norwich will travel to the capital to face Charlton.
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TOP FLIGHT
Elsewhere among Premier League sides…
Southampton travel to Swansea, while Brighton take on West Brom.
Hull play host to Everton, while Crystal Palace face south London rivals Millwall.
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PREM CLASH
So just two all-Premier League clashes in the third round then.
Leicester vs Watford and West Ham vs Leeds.
Which teams are you backing to reach the next stage?
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FA CUP THIRD ROUND DRAW
- Boreham Wood/St Albans vs AFC Wimbledon
- Yeovil vs Bournemouth
- Stoke vs Leyton Orient
- Swansea vs Southampton
- Chelsea vs Chesterfield
- Liverpool vs Shrewsbury
- Cardiff vs Preston
- Coventry vs Derby
- Burnley vs Huddersfield
- West Brom vs Brighton
- Kiddersminster vs Reading
- Leicester vs Watford
- Mansfield vs Middlesbrough
- Hartlepool vs Blackpool
- Hull vs Everton
- Bristol City vs Fulham
- Tottenham vs Morecambe
- Millwall vs Palace
- Port Vale vs Brentford
- Swindon vs Man City
- Wigan vs Blackburn
- Luton vs Harrogate
- Birmingham vs Plymouth
- Man Utd vs Aston Villa
- Wolves vs Sheff Utd
- Newcastle vs Cambridge
- Barnsley vs Ipswich/Barrow
- Peterborough vs Bristol Rovers
- West Ham vs Leeds
- QPR vs Rotherham
- Charlton vs Norwich
- Forest vs Arsenal
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WHEN WILL THE GAMES BE PLAYED?
All ties will be played between January 7th and January 10th 2022.
The winners will then enter the pot for Round Four.
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STILL TO COME
Arsenal face a potentially tricky test away at Nottingham Forest.
And north London rivals Tottenham have a home tie against Morecambe.
Finally, FA Cup holders Leicester begin the defence of their trophy against Watford at the King Power Stadium.
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BEST OF THE REST
Beaten finalists Chelsea will play at home to Chesterfield.
Liverpool also have a home tie as they host Shrewsbury Town.
But Man City face a journey to Swindon Town in their bid for cup glory.
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ELSEWHERE
West Ham vs Leeds will be another mouth-watering encounter.
David Moyes’ men are playing above and beyond this season.
Whereas Leeds are yet to find their best form under Marcelo Bielsa.
But if both sides have few injury problems, it is sure to be a cracker at the London Stadium.
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DRAW OF THE ROUND?
Aston Villa travel to Manchester United in arguably the round of the tie.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard will face a huge test after returning to English football as a manager.
And he will pit his wits against another new boss in Ralf Rangnick.
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PHEW
That was quite a ride.
Let’s remind ourselves of some of the best ties in this season’s FA Cup third round.
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Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal
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Peterborough Utd vs Bristol Rovers
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Barnsley vs Ipswich Town/Barrow
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Newcastle vs Cambridge Utd
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Man United vs Aston Villa
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Birmingham vs Plymouth Argyle
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Luton Town vs Harrogate Town
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Wigan Athletic vs Blackburn Rovers
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Millwall vs Crystal Palace
