Preston to face Arsenal in FA Cup Third Round

THE draw for the third round of the FA Cup was made on Monday night and Preston North End will take on 12-times winners Arsenal in what is arguably the stand-out tie.

Manchester City will play in the first ever FA Cup game at West Ham United’s London Stadium whilst rivals Manchester United will play host to Championship side Reading, managed by former Red Devils defender Jaap Stam.

League One’s Bolton Wanderers, who have had to win two matches just to get to this stage, will play host to Premier League opposition in the third round as last season’s beaten finalists Crystal Palace make the journey north to the Macron Stadium.

Rochdale, who have also been in the cup since round one, will face Barrow AFC of the National League. The Cumbrians produced one of the shocks of the tournament thus far when they saw off Bristol Rovers 2-1 in Gloucestershire on Sunday afternoon.

There’s an all Premier League affair at the Stadium of Light as Burnley visit Sunderland whilst Blackburn Rovers will take on divisional rivals Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.

Wigan Athletic, the 2013 FA Cup winners, will start their campaign this season at home to Nottingham Forest whilst Accrington Stanley may be underwhelmed with a tie at home to fellow League Two side Luton Town.

Finally, non-leaguers Macclesfield Town, so close to a victory over Oxford United on Friday night, will travel east to Championship strugglers Rotherham United should they be victorious in their replay.

The full draw is listed below and all ties will be played on the week commencing Friday 6 January 2017:

Ipswich Town v Lincoln/Oldham

Barrow v Rochdale

Manchester United v Reading

Hull v Swansea

Sunderland v Burnley

QPR v Blackburn

Millwall v Bournemouth

West Ham v Manchester City

Brighton v MK Dons/Charlton

Blackpool v Barnsley

Wigan v Nottm Forest

Birmingham v Newcastle

Chelsea v Notts County

Middlesbrough v Sheff Weds

West Brom v Derby County

Everton v Leicester

Liverpool v Newport/Plymouth

Wycombe v Northampton/Stourbridge

Watford v Burton Albion

Preston v Arsenal

Cardiff v Fulham

Stoke v Wolves

Cambridge Utd v Leeds

Bristol City v Shrewsbury/Fleetwood

Huddersfield v Port Vale

Tottenham v Aston Villa

Brentford v Halifax/Eastleigh

Bolton v Crystal Palace

Norwich v Southampton

Sutton Utd v AFC Wimbledon

Accrington v Luton

Rotherham v Oxford/Macclesfield