The FA Cup is an excellent competition. Unseeded knockout tournaments general tend to produce some excellent football and fantastic matchups -- one need only look at this year’s edition of the League Cup, which has already seen both Manchester City and Manchester United knocked out by Premier League teams to appreciate just how fun these tournaments can be.
FA Cup 3rd Round draw sees Swansea-Arsenal rematch
Dean Mouhtaropoulos
But with that said, and with an admittedly Premier League-centric approach, this draw is rather underwhelming. There are a couple of potential upsets on the cards, with Stoke City forced to travel to Crystal Palace and the always-menacing Crawley Town hosting struggling Reading, but there are few big-name draws and only four all-Premier League ties.
The best of those four is probably Swansea vs. Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium, with the Gunners looking to exact revenge for this weekend's Premier League defeat, and West Bromwich Albion's visit to Loftus Road and QPR will probably be worth keeping an eye on as well.
Crystal Palace vs. Stoke City
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Coventry City
Wigan Athletic vs. Bournemouth
Fulham vs. Blackpool
Aston Villa vs. Ipswich Town
Charlton Athletic vs. Huddersfield Town
Barrow or Macclesfield Town vs. Cardiff City
Barnsley vs. Burnley
Manchester City vs. Watford
Swansea City vs. Arsenal
Leicester City vs. Burton Albion
Millwall vs. Preston North End
Cheltenham or Hereford vs. Everton
Derby County vs. Tranmere Rovers
Crawley Town vs. Reading
Aldershot Town vs. Rotherham United or Notts County
Middlesbrough vs. Harrogate or Hastings
Accrington Stanley or Oxford United vs. Sheffield United
Southampton vs. Chelsea
Queens Park Rangers vs. West Bromwich Albion
Peterborough United vs. Norwich City
Lincoln City or Mannsfield Town vs. Liverpool
Bolton Wanderers vs. Sunderland
Nottingham Forest vs. Oldham Athletic
West Ham United vs. Manchester United
Hull City vs. Alfreton Town or Leyton Orient
Leeds United vs. Birmingham City
Blackburn Rovers vs. Bristol City
Bury or South End United vs. Bradford City or Brentford
Luton Town vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield Wednesday vs. MK Dons
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