Crystal Palace v Manchester City - Emirates FA Cup Final
The FA Cup has reached the third round (Picture: Getty)
The FA Cup third round gets underway this weekend as Premier League and Championship sides gear up to enter the competition.
Lower-league clubs will be licking their lips at the possibility of causing a famous giant-killing to punch their ticket to the fourth round.
Holders Crystal Palace will look to avoid that fate in their tie against non-League club Macclesfield FC, while Arsenal and Chelsea both face away trips to Championship opposition in Portsmouth and Charlton, respectively.
Elsewhere, Manchester City host League One side Exeter City, while there is four all-Premier League ties.
Tottenham host Aston Villa, Brighton head to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United, Newcastle face off against Bournemouth and Sunderland travel to Everton.
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The action gets underway on Friday, with eight teams looking to become the first to secure their spots in the draw for next month’s fourth-round action.
Ahead of the draw, here’s everything you need to know, including the timings, how to watch on TV and live stream, and those all-important ball numbers.
When is the FA Cup third round draw?
Crystal Palace FC v Manchester City FC - F.A. Cup final
Crystal Palace are the defending champions (Picture: Getty)
The FA Cup fourth round draw will be conducted on Monday, January 12, 2026.
The draw will take place ahead of the final third-round tie between Liverpool and Barnsley at Anfield, with a start time of approximately 6.35pm GMT.
Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist will present the coverage, with the balls set to be drawn by former England internationals Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard.
FA Cup third round ball numbers
1. Wolverhampton Wanderers or Shrewsbury Town
2. Doncaster Rovers or Southampton
3. Tottenham Hotspur or Aston Villa
4. Port Vale or Fleetwood Town
5. Preston North End or Wigan Athletic
6. Ipswich Town or Blackpool
7. Wrexham or Nottingham Forest
8. Charlton Athletic or Chelsea
9. Manchester City or Exeter City
10. West Ham United or Queens Park Rangers
11. Sheffield Wednesday or Brentford
12. Fulham or Middlesbrough
13. Everton or Sunderland
14. Liverpool or Barnsley
15. Burnley or Millwall
16. Norwich City or Walsall
17. Portsmouth or Arsenal
18. Derby County or Leeds United
19. Swansea City or West Bromwich Albion
20. Salford City or Swindon Town
21. Boreham Wood or Burton Albion
22. Grimsby Town or Weston-Super-Mare
23. Hull City or Blackburn Rovers
24. Newcastle United or AFC Bournemouth
25. Milton Keynes Dons or Oxford United
26. Cheltenham Town or Leicester City
27. Cambridge United or Birmingham City
28. Bristol City or Watford
29. Stoke City or Coventry City
30. Macclesfield or Crystal Palace
31. Manchester United or Brighton & Hove Albion
32. Sheffield United or Mansfield Town
How to watch on TV and live stream for free
Brackley Town v Burton Albion - Emirates FA Cup Second Round
Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist will present the draw (Picture: Getty)
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the draw live on TNT Sports 1 or via the Discovery+ app and website with a subscription.
The draw can also be streamed live for free on the TNT Sports YouTube channel.
Full FA Cup third-round fixtures and results
Friday, January 9
19:30: Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest
19:30: Preston North End vs Wigan Athletic
19:30: MK Dons vs Oxford United
19:30: Port Vale vs Fleetwood Town
Saturday, January 10
12:15: Macclesfield vs Crystal Palace
12:15: Everton vs Sunderland
12:15: Wolves vs Shrewsbury Town
12:15: Cheltenham Town vs Leicester City
15:00: Doncaster Rovers vs Southampton
15:00: Ipswich Town vs Blackpool
15:00: Manchester City vs Exeter City
15:00: Sheffield Wednesday vs Brentford
15:00: Fulham vs Middlesbrough
15:00: Burnley vs Millwall
15:00: Salford City vs Swindon Town
15:00: Boreham Wood vs Burton Albion
15:00: Newcastle United vs Bournemouth
15:00: Stoke City vs Coventry City
17:45: Tottenham vs Aston Villa
17:45: Grimsby Town vs Weston Super Mare
17:45: Cambridge United vs Birmingham City
17:45: Bristol City vs Watford
20:00: Charlton Athletic vs Chelsea
Sunday, January 11
12:00: Derby County vs Leeds United
14:00: Portsmouth vs Arsenal
14:30: West Ham vs QPR
14:30: Swansea City vs West Brom
14:30: Hull City vs Blackburn Rovers
14:30: Sheffield United vs Mansfield Town
14:30: Norwich City vs Walsall
16:30: Manchester United vs Brighton
Monday, January 12
19:45: Liverpool vs Barnsley
When will the fourth round games be played?
FA Cup fourth round matches are scheduled to take place next month around the weekend of February 14-15, 2026.
Are there replays in the FA Cup this year?
Replays were scrapped from the full rounds of the competition last year, and the FA have opted to keep that in place for this season.
Replays were used during the qualifying rounds for this season, but they have not been in use since the first round proper.
Should any match end in a draw, it will go to extra-time and if needed, a penalty shootout.
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