All of the qualifying rounds and the first two proper rounds of the FA Cup have been completed, and the part where the big teams get to play is here. Every Premier League and Championship team enters the draw in the third round of the FA Cup, with 64 teams remaining in the competition after they show up.
FA Cup 2016, 3rd-round draw results: Premier League giants avoid each other
Burton and Notts County are the lower-tier sides that could be looking at big paydays, while West Ham vs. Manchester City is the closest thing to a glamour tie.
Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images
The lowest-division team remaining in the FA Cup is seventh-tier side Stourbridge, though they still have to win a replay to get into the third round. One sixth-tier team, FC Halifax Town, also has a second-round replay. Two fifth-division sides, Barrow and Sutton United, are definitely in the third round.
For a lower-tier team, a game away to a Premier League side is almost better than one they can win. All proceeds from FA Cup matches are split, and for some teams, the earnings from a game away to a top team will more than double their revenue for the season.
Matches will be played the weekend of Jan. 6. Here’s what the schedule looks like.
FA Cup 3rd-round draw
Ipswich vs, Lincoln City or Oldham
Barrow vs. Rochdale
Manchester United vs. Reading
Hull vs. Swansea
Sunderland vs. Burnley
QPR vs. Blackburn
Millwall vs. Bournemouth
Brighton vs. MK Dons or Charlton
West Ham vs. Manchester City
Blackpool vs. Barnsley
Wigan Athletic vs. Nottingham Forest
Birmingham City vs. Newcastle
Chelsea vs. Notts County or Peterborough
Middlesbrough vs. Sheffield Wednesday
West Bromwich Albion vs. Derby County
Everton vs. Leicester City
Wycombe vs. Stourbridge or Northampton
Watford vs. Burton
Preston North End vs. Arsenal
Liverpool vs. Newport or Plymouth
Cardiff vs. Fulham
Stoke City vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Cambridge vs. Leeds
Bristol City vs. Fleetwood Town or Shrewsbury Town
Huddersfield vs. Port Vale
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Aston Villa
Brentford vs. Halifax Town or Eastleigh
Bolton vs. Crystal Palace
Norwich vs. Southampton
Sutton United vs. Wimbledon
Accrington Stanley vs. Luton Town
Rotherham vs. Oxford United or Macclesfield Town
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