The FA Cup is football’s oldest domestic knockout tournament, which begins in August and ends in May every season.
Beginning with the qualifying stages, the competition consists of 12 rounds, a semi-final and a final
The FA in the name of the competition stands for the Football Association
The first FA Cup was held in November 1871, with the final in March 1872 where the Wanderers beat Royal Engineers 1-0 to become the first winners.
The first FA Cup trophy was nicknamed the ‘Little Tin Idol’ and cost £20, but was stolen from a Birmingham shop window in 1895, resulting in holders Aston Villa being fined £25 to pay for a replacement
There is an entry round, which means that professional teams from Leagues One and Two enter the first round proper, while Premier League and Championship teams enter in the third round proper.
London has 12 teams which have made it to or joined the FA Cup in the third round.
Bromley sit 14th in the League Two table and beat Solihull Moors 2-1 in the second round.
They will face Premier League side Newcastle United away, the first time these two sides will have met each other.
Bromley’s manager, Andy Woodman, was goalkeeper coach at Newcastle, which has won the FA Cup six times.
At the other end of the scale, Premier League side and eight-time FA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur have been drawn away to Tamworth, the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.
Tamworth reached the third round of the FA Cup after winning on penalties 4-3 against Burton Albion, following a 1-1 draw with the League One side.
League One Londoners Leyton Orient will face Championship side Derby County after beating Oldham Athletic 2-1 in the second round.
These two sides played one another somewhat recently in April 2024, with that match resulting in a 3-0 victory for Derby.
Orient have won 18 games compared to 1946 FA Cup winners Derby’s 24 games in their head-to-head record.
Fulham, meanwhile, host fellow former FA Cup runners-up and Championship side Watford in their third-round tie.
For both clubs, this is their first FA Cup game of the season and the last time they played each other was in April 2019 in the Premier League, with Watford winning 4-1.
West Ham United‘s trip to Aston Villa is one of several all-Premier League showdowns in the FA Cup third round.
Their most recent meeting was in August 2024, with Villa winning 2-1.
The last time these two met in the FA Cup was in 1980 when West Ham beat Villa 1-0 in the sixth round.
While Aston Villa have lifted the trophy seven times, West Ham have won it three times.
As far as their three previous FA Cup meetings go, Villa have won two and West Ham the other.
Another all-Premier League blockbuster tie pitches Arsenal against current holders Manchester United.
Arsenal hold the record for the most FA Cup triumphs with 14, while United have lifted the trophy on 13 occasions.
This will be the 17th occasion that these two sides have met in the FA Cup, including the 1979 and 2005 finals which were both won by Arsenal.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are joint-third with Spurs and Liverpool on the all-time list of FA Cup winners, with eight to their name
The Blues host League Two strugglers Morecambe, who beat Bradford City 1-0 in a second-round clash which saw City received a red card.
These two sides have met only once before, which was in the FA Cup in January 2021.
Chelsea won 4-0 that day although none of the goal scorers, who were Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kai Havertz, are at the club.
Indeed, Ben Chilwell is the only player named in the Chelsea squad for that game who is still at the club.
Queens Park Rangers travel to Premier League outfit Leicester City, who recently sacked Steve Cooper as manager and now have Manchester United icon Ruud van Nistelrooy at the helm.
QPR have never won the Cup, although were runners-up in 1982, while Leicester’s sole triumph came in a 1-0 victory against Chelsea three years ago.
The last time these two sides met was in March of this year, with a 2-1 victory for the London side.
Crystal Palace, runners-up in 1990, are at home to League One high-flyers Stockport County, who reached this stage thanks to a 3-1 win over non-League side Brackley Town.
The last time these two sides faced each other was over 22 years ago in January 2002, in which Crystal Palace won 1-0.
In total, Palace have won 11 games, drawn eight and lost four against Stockport.
An all-London tie sees Championship side Millwall hosting non-League Dagenham & Redbridge.
The Daggers reached the third round after beating another London club, AFC Wimbledon, 2-1 and currently sit 15th in the National League.
The last time these two sides met was in the FA Cup 12 years ago, when Millwall won 5-0 in a replay after a 0-0 draw in the first match.
Finally, League One Charlton Athletic will be away to Championship side Preston North End after winning 4-1 against Walsall in the second round.
Both sides have won the Cup in the distant past, with Charlton victorious in 1947 and Preston lifting the FA Cup twice, in 1889 and 1938.
