The draw for the FA Cup third round is set to take place tonight, marking the first time this season that Premier League and Championship clubs will enter the competition. Non-league teams Macclesfield, Weston-super-Mare and Boreham Wood have all advanced to this stage, hoping for a lucrative match against one of English football's giants.
Sixth-tier Brackley Town could also join them if they triumph over Burton Albion in their second-round tie later tonight. Last season's winners, Crystal Palace, who shocked Manchester City in the final, are also in the mix as clubs from across the pyramid aim to embark on a memorable cup run. So why isn't the draw on live TV?
The draw is scheduled for tonight - Monday, December 8 - at approximately 6.40pm (GMT), just before the televised match between Brackley Town and Burton Albion kicks off.
But it will not be shown on BBC. It will be broadcasted by TNT Sports instead, but only subscribers can watch it on their televisions. BBC shows FA Cup matches for free but shares the rights with TNT which is a paid-for service. In the second round, eight of the 20 matches were shown on TNT while BBC Sport had the rights to make two games available to watch for free.
The coverage of the draw starts at 6.30pm on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+. But fans without TNT can still watch it, they will simply have to turn to YouTube and watch it on the TNT Sports YouTube channel.
FA Cup third round ball numbers
1. AFC Bournemouth
2. Arsenal
3. Aston Villa
4. Birmingham City
5. Blackburn Rovers
6. Brentford
7. Brighton & Hove Albion
8. Bristol City
9. Burnley
10. Charlton Athletic
11. Chelsea
12. Coventry City
13. Crystal Palace
14. Derby County
15. Everton
16. Fulham
17. Hull City
18. Ipswich Town
19. Leeds United
20. Leicester City
21. Liverpool
22. Manchester City
23. Manchester United
24. Middlesbrough
25. Millwall
26. Newcastle United
27. Norwich City
28. Nottingham Forest
29. Oxford United
30. Portsmouth
31. Preston North End
32. Queens Park Rangers
33. Sheffield United
34. Sheffield Wednesday
35. Southampton
36. Stoke City
37. Sunderland
38. Swansea City
39. Tottenham Hotspur
40. Watford
41. West Bromwich Albion
42. West Ham United
43. Wolverhampton Wanderers
44. Wrexham
45. Macclesfield
46. Grimsby Town
47. Shrewsbury Town
48. Swindon Town
49. Weston Super Mare
50. Barnsley
51. Boreham Wood
52. Milton Keynes Dons
53. Wigan Athletic
54. Fleetwood Town
55. Salford City
56. Mansfield Town
57. Cambridge United
58. Brackley Town or Burton Albion
59. Blackpool
60. Walsall
61. Exeter City
62. Cheltenham Town
63. Doncaster Rovers
64. Port Vale
When will the third-round matches take place?
The third-round fixtures are scheduled for the extended weekend of 10–12 January 2026, with games expected to take place from Thursday through Monday.
FA Cup round dates
Fourth round: 14 February 2026
Fifth round: 7 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 4 April 2026
Semi-finals: 25 April 2026
Final: 16 May 2026