Thanks for joining me. Hope your side got the draw they wanted.
Join me here for more fun …
And that concludes the draw. Macclesfield v the holders Palace stands out for me. Some decent all-Premier League matches, too, for mainstream supporters. Spurs v Villa and Man United v Brighton could be decent.
Sheffield United v Mansfield
Manchester United v Brighton
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace
Stoke v Coventry
Bristol City v Watford
Cambridge v Birmingham
Cheltenham v Leicester
MK Dons v Oxford
Newcastle v Bournemouth
Hull v Blackburn
Grimsby v Weston-super-Mare
Boreham Wood v Brackley or Burton
Salford v Swindon
Swansea v West Brom
Derby v Leeds
Portsmouth v Arsenal
Norwich v Walsall
Burnley v Millwall
Liverpool v Barnsley
Everton v Sunderland
Fulham v Middlesbrough
Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford
West Ham v QPR
Manchester City v Exeter
Charlton v Chelsea
Wrexham v Nottingham Forest
Ipswich v Blackpool
Preston v Wigan
Port Vale v Fleetwood
Tottenham v Aston Villa
Doncaster v Southampton
Wolves v Shrewsbury
Cole to draw the home teams, Crouch away.
Crouch and Cole are in the clubhouse … we are getting closer.
TNT are hosting the draw at Brackley Town before they face Burton Albion.
Joe Pearson emails about Salah: “He didn’t just burn bridges after he left, he burnt the very bridge he was standing on. I think he has already played his last game in red, unless he joins Bayern or Al-Wehda, that is.”
Wrexham will be aiming for a plum tie to further helps their coffers.
Joe Cole and Peter Crouch will be conducting the draw. GK Barry unfortunately missed out on this occasion.
Will Mohamed Salah still be a Liverpool player by the time the third round comes about?
Fabio Borini scored on Friday night in Salford’s 4-0 win over Leyton Orient, which means I can shoehorn this interview I did with him earlier this season.
Who will Macclesfield fancy? One of the big Manchester clubs? They did get to play against City back in the 1998-99 season in the old Second Division. Shaun Goater scored the winner at Moss Rose that season.
Enjoy a first round roundup.
Preamble
The third round draw of the FA Cup is upon us, when all the big names are thrown into a big hat with some right minnows. Most notable of the those lower down the pyramid are Weston-super-Mare and Macclesfield, who will be hoping to face Premier League sides.
The will be played around the weekend of 10/11 January but we can safely assume Friday and Monday nights will host a fixture.
The all-important ball numbers are below:
1. AFC Bournemouth
2. Arsenal
3. Aston Villa
4. Birmingham City
5. Blackburn Rovers
6. Brentford
7. Brighton & Hove Albion
8. Bristol City
9. Burnley
10. Charlton Athletic
11. Chelsea
12. Coventry City
13. Crystal Palace
14. Derby County
15. Everton
16. Fulham
17. Hull City
18. Ipswich Town
19. Leeds United
20. Leicester City
21. Liverpool
22. Manchester City
23. Manchester United
24. Middlesbrough
25. Millwall
26. Newcastle United
27. Norwich City
28. Nottingham Forest
29. Oxford United
30. Portsmouth
31. Preston North End
32. Queens Park Rangers
33. Sheffield United
34. Sheffield Wednesday
35. Southampton
36. Stoke City
37. Sunderland
38. Swansea City
39. Tottenham Hotspur
40. Watford
41. West Bromwich Albion
42. West Ham United
43. Wolverhampton Wanderers
44. Wrexham
45. Macclesfield
46. Grimsby Town
47. Shrewsbury Town
48. Swindon Town
49. Weston-super-Mare
50. Barnsley
51. Boreham Wood
52. Milton Keynes Dons
53. Wigan Athletic
54. Fleetwood Town
55. Salford City
56. Mansfield Town
57. Cambridge United
58. Brackley Town or Burton Albion
59. Blackpool
60. Walsall
61. Exeter City
62. Cheltenham Town
63. Doncaster Rovers
64. Port Vale
