Teams from the Premier League and Championship got their FA Cup campaigns underway at the weekend in a largely uneventful set of third-round ties.
Holders Arsenal eased through with a 3-1 win over Sunderland, while Manchester United had to rely on a stoppage-time penalty from Wayne Rooney to scrape past League One Sheffield United.
Lower-league opposition also proved a headache for Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa, all of whom now face replays after being held to draws, while Swansea City were the biggest giants to fall as they went down 3-2 at Oxford United.
For those who progressed, the fourth round awaits at the end of the month - but who are they facing? Find out in our live coverage of the draw below.
That concludes the draw for the fourth round of the
FA Cup. Holders Arsenal welcome Championship side Burnley to the Emirates, while Manchester United face a tricky trip to second-tier title-chasers Derby County. Cup favourites Manchester City will travel to the winners of the replay between Wycombe and Aston Villa, while Liverpool will welcome fellow Premier League side West Ham to Anfield if they overcome Exeter City in their rematch. Thanks for joining us!
NORTHAMPTON/MK DONS vs. CHELSEA
BURY/BRADFORD vs. HULL CITY
COLCHESTER UNITED vs. TOTTENHAM/LEICESTER
IPSWICH/PORTSMOUTH vs. BOURNEMOUTH
OXFORD UNITED vs. NEWPORT/BLACKBURN
CRYSTAL PALACE vs. STOKE CITY
CARLISLE/YEOVIL vs. EVERTON
NOTTINGHAM FOREST vs. WATFORD
SHREWSBURY vs. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
WYCOMBE/ASTON VILLA vs. MANCHESTER CITY
EXETER/LIVERPOOL vs. WEST HAM UNITED
HUDDERSFIELD/READING vs. WALSALL
DERBY COUNTY vs. MANCHESTER UNITED
ARSENAL vs. BURNLEY
EASTLEIGH/BOLTON vs. LEEDS UNITED
WEST BROM/BRISTOL CITY vs. PETERBOROUGH
Here we go. Eyes down, look in...
On which note, time to talk balls. Here are the draw numbers you'll need to pay attention to over the next ten minutes or so:
1. Watford
2. West Bromwich Albion or Bristol City
3. West Ham United
4. Derby County
5. Exeter City or Liverpool
6. Tottenham Hotspur or Leicester City
7. Colchester United
8. Peterborough United
9. Northampton Town or MK Dons
10. Arsenal
11. Newport County or Blackburn Rovers
12. Ipswich Town or Portsmouth
13. Bournemouth
14. Wycombe Wanderers or Aston Villa
15. Sheffield Wednesday
16. Oxford United
17. Walsall
18. Bury or Bradford City
19. Manchester United
20. Everton
21. Crystal Palace
22. Eastleigh or Bolton Wanderers
23. Nottingham Forest
24. Carlisle United or Yeovil Town
25. Chelsea
26. Stoke City
27. Leeds United
28. Shrewsbury Town
29. Huddersfield Town or Reading
30. Burnley
31. Manchester City
32. Hull City
Holders Arsenal
eased forward in the competition with a 3-1 win over Sunderland, while there were also straightforward victories for Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton. Despite the Gunners winning the trophy two seasons in a row, most bookmakers currently have City as the favourites to be named outright winner, although expect the odds to shift tonight according to who draws whom.
The lowest-ranked side left in the competition are National League promotion hopefuls Eastleigh, who successfully held Championship strugglers Bolton Wanderers at Ten Acres on Saturday. Meanwhile, fourth-tier Oxford United pulled off the only giant-killing of the weekend as they
defeated Swansea City 3-2 to make their first appearance in the fourth round since 1999.
In all, ten of the 32 third-round fixtures ended in a stalemate, while one game - Newport vs. Blackburn Rovers - had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. The replays have all been scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, January 19, although Liverpool's encounter with Exeter will take place a day later. The game will be the third home fixture inside seven days for the Reds, who must also face Arsenal and Manchester United in the league in that time.
Liverpool too require a replay in order to progress, although theirs came about in less spectacular fashion. Jurgen Klopp's men had to come from behind twice in order to
salvage a draw at fourth-tier Exeter City on Friday night, leaving the German
incredulous at the prospect of another game in an already-packed January schedule.
Tottenham Hotspur also had a last-gasp penalty to thank for keeping their cup dreams alive as Harry Kane made no mistake from the spot in the 89th minute of Spurs' encounter with Leicester City to
level the scores at 2-2 and force a replay.
It's fair to say that last weekend will not exactly go down as the most memorable rounds in FA Cup history, although it was not without some share of drama. After 90 minutes of "uninspired" play (to put it kindly), Manchester United had to rely on a stoppage-time penalty from one Wayne Rooney to see them past League One side Sheffield United.
© Getty Images
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup. In around 15 minutes' time, Ian Wright will pluck out the balls to determine the 16 ties to be played in the next phase of the competition.
