FA Cup third round draw details confirmed: Brighton, Crystal Palace and West Ham ball numbers, how to watch, fixture dates

Brighton will be in the hat as the draw for the third round of the FA Cup takes place.

The Seagulls, who are seventh in the Premier League after their 1-1 draw with West Ham, reached the quarter-finals of the domestic cup competition last season before being knocked out by Nottingham Forest after a penalty shootout at the Amex Stadium.

Crystal Palace are the current holders of the FA Cup as Oliver Galsner's men beat Manchester City 1-0 in last season's FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

All 20 Premier League clubs and the 24 teams from the Championship join the 20 winners of the second round ties at this stage of the competition.

When is the third round draw?

The draw for the FA Cup third draw will be held tonight and starts at approximately 6.40pm and can be watched on TNT Sports 1, Discovery+ and TNT Sports' YouTube channel. The draw takes place ahead of the second-round tie between Brackley Town and Burton Albion. Former England internationals Joe Cole and Peter Crouch will be picking out the balls.

When will third fixtures be played?

The third round ties are scheduled to be played around the weekend of Saturday 10 January, 2026. The final this year will be played at Wembley on Saturday, 16 May 2026 .

Will there be replays?

No, there are no replays if third round fixtures are drawn after 90 minutes. Ties will go straight to extra-time and then a penalty shootout, if required.

Third round ball numbers

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

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