The FA Cup is the oldest cup competition in football and the 2024-25 edition is heading into the third-round stage.
The heavy hitters are gearing up for action as the FA Cup reaches its most thrilling stages, with the journey to Wembley truly beginning to take shape.
Clubs from the Premier League and Championship are set to join the fray in the third round, where just 20 teams from League One or lower will remain in the mix, anxiously awaiting the draw to determine their next opponents.
Defending champions Manchester United are poised to embark on their title defence under the guidance of newly appointed manager Ruben Amorim, who stepped into the role in early November following the departure of last season’s victorious boss, Erik ten Hag.
Here, GOAL has everything you need to know about the FA Cup third-round draw, including how to watch, the teams involved and more.
When is the FA Cup third-round draw?
| Date: | Monday, December 2, 2023 |
| Time: | 7:00 pm GMT / 2:00 pm ET |
| TV & stream: | BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, ESPN+, YouTube |
The FA Cup third-round proper draw will be held from 7:00 pm GMT / 2:00 pm ET on Monday, December 2, with coverage starting at 7:00 pm GMT and ending at 7:30 pm GMT. Kelly Somers will host the draw, with Mark Hughes and Dion Dublin on hand to pick out the team balls.
How to watch the FA Cup third round draw - live stream & TV channel
| Country | TV & stream |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | BBC Two, BBC iPlayer |
| United States | ESPN+ |
Fans in the UK can catch live coverage of the FA Cup draw on BBC Two. For those preferring to stream, the draw will also be available to stream for free on the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer. Additionally, all the action will be shared across the Emirates FA Cup's official social media platforms.
In the U.S., the draw will be available to stream live on ESPN+.
Which teams are in the FA Cup third-round draw?
All 20 Premier League teams and 24 Championship clubs enter the FA Cup at the third round stage. They will join the 20 winners from the second round.
FA Cup third round draw ball numbers
You can see the ball numbers below.
1. AFC Bournemouth
2. Arsenal
3. Aston Villa
4. Blackburn Rovers
5. Brentford
6. Brighton & Hove Albion
7. Bristol City
8. Burnley
9. Cardiff City
10. Chelsea
11. Coventry City
12. Crystal Palace
13. Derby County
14. Everton
15. Fulham
16. Hull City
17. Ipswich Town
18. Leeds United
19. Leicester City
20. Liverpool
21. Luton Town
22. Manchester City
23. Manchester United
24. Middlesbrough
25. Millwall
26. Newcastle United
27. Norwich City
28. Nottingham Forest
29. Oxford United
30. Plymouth Argyle
31. Portsmouth
32. Preston North End
33. Queens Park Rangers
34. Sheffield United
35. Sheffield Wednesday
36. Southampton
37. Stoke City
38. Sunderland
39. Swansea City
40. Tottenham
41. Watford
42. West Brom
43. West Ham
44. Wolves
45. Salford City
46. Charlton Athletic
47. Exeter City
48. Leyton Orient
49. Bristol Rovers
50. Dagenham & Redbridge
51. Accrington Stanley
52. Lincoln City
53. Tamworth
54. Birmingham City
55. Mansfield Town
56. Peterborough United
57. Stockport County
58. Wycombe Wanderers
59. Morecambe
60. Bromley
61. Doncaster Rovers
62. Reading
63. Harrogate Town
64. Wigan Athletic
You can see the results and fixtures of the 2024-25 FA Cup here.
When will the FA Cup third-round games be played?
The third-round clashes of the FA Cup are scheduled for the weekend of Saturday, January 11, 2025, with fixtures likely to be spread out from Friday, January 10, to Monday, January 13.
Teams advancing past this stage will secure a tidy sum of £115,000 from the tournament's prize pool. For the underdog sides still in the mix, this financial boost offers plenty of motivation to pull off a giant-killing performance.