The draw for the third round of the FA Cup, from where the Premier League teams join the competition, was conducted on Sunday 3 December 2023. A total of 62 teams will participate in this round with 53 qualified and 16 other sides to battle each other for the remaining spots. The matches for this round will be played next year across January 5-8. The 2023-24 FA Cup final will be traditionally hosted at Wembley again on 25 May 2024.
The blockbuster tie of this round is surely the clash at the Emirates Stadium between record 14-time winners Arsenal and Liverpool who has won it eight times. This will be the 17th meeting between the sides in the FA Cup and the first since 2014 when the home side in the present tie won it 2-1. The Gunners are also ahead in the head-to-head record with eight wins to five. Both are also in an intense battle for the Premier League this season with the Reds trailing Mikel Arteta’s men at the top by two points, at the time of writing, making this clash even more exciting of who progresses at the expense of others.
The other prominent game in this round is the Tyne–Wear derby or the North East derby between Sunderland and Newcastle at the Stadium of Light. The pair will face off for the seventh time in this knockout competition although this will be their first this century. The Black Cats won the last encounter 2-0 all the way back in 1956 but will be the underdog in this battle with both clubs on opposite sides of the tunnel presently. Sunderland languishes in the Championship while the Magpies are enjoying Champions League football under new ownership.
Meanwhile, Tottenham will face off against Burnley in the all-Premier League affair at home while 13-time winners and last season’s runners-up Manchester United travel to take on 2013 champions Wigan Athletic. The Red Devils will also play their first away fixture in a domestic cup tie since 2021 having played 12 such games at Old Trafford in a row. Holders Manchester City and Chelsea are both given home encounters against Huddersfield Town and Preston respectively.
Here is the third round draw in full (Key fixtures are in bold):
Friday, 5 January 2023
Crystal Palace vs Everton (01:30)
Saturday, 6 January 2023
Brentford vs Wolves (00:45)
Fulham vs Rotherham (01:00)
Tottenham vs Burnley - Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, London (01:30)
Maidstone vs Stevenage (18:00)
Coventry vs Oxford (18:00)
Millwall vs Leicester (18:00)
AFC Wimbledon vs Ipswich Town (18:00)
Sunderland vs Newcastle - Stadium of Light, Sunderland (18:15)
Watford vs Chesterfield (20:30)
Stoke vs Brighton (20:30)
Gillingham vs Sheffield United (20:30)
Blackburn Rovers vs Cambridge (20:30)
Newport County or Barnet vs Eastleigh (20:30)
Norwich vs Bristol Rovers (20:30)
QPR vs Bournemouth (20:30)
Plymouth Argyle vs Sutton United (20:30)
Southampton vs Walsall (20:30)
Hull vs Birmingham (20:30)
Sheffield Wednesday vs Cardiff (23:00)
Chelsea vs Preston North End - Stamford Bridge, London (23:00)
Swansea vs Morecambe (23:00)
Middlesbrough vs Aston Villa (23:00)
Sunday, 7 January 2023
West Ham vs Bristol City (19:30)
Nottingham Forest vs Blackpool or Forest Green Rovers (19:30)
Luton vs Bolton (19:30)
Peterborough United vs Leeds (19:30)
Shrewsbury vs Wrexham (19:30)
West Brom vs Aldershot (19:30)
Manchester City vs Huddersfield - Etihad Stadium, Manchester (19:30)
Arsenal vs Liverpool - Emirates Stadium, London (22:00)
Wigan Athletic vs Manchester United - DW Stadium, Wigan (01:45)
Note: All timings are in IST
