We’re almost to the new year, and that means it’s almost time for the FA Cup. As always, we will be entering in the third round, with matches held the weekend of January 6-7.
And our opponents will be … drumroll please … Preston North End, currently of the Championship! The match will be at Stamford Bridge, which is nice.
This is a fixture rarely seen since the 1950s, with only a few Cup games between the sides in addition to a couple seasons shared in the old Second Division. We last played Preston in 2010, in the 4th round of the FA Cup, winning 2-0 on goals from Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Sturridge.
The draw for the FA Cup 3rd round in full, including a Tyne-Wear Derby, is as follows.
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Preston North End have been drawn away to Chelsea in the FA Cup third round, with the date for the fixture yet to be confirmed.
It is understood that television picks will be confirmed on Friday, with ties to be played across the weekend of January 6 and 7. There are 32 ties to be played, with Sunderland vs Newcastle and Arsenal vs Liverpool two stand out fixtures. North End were drawn away to the Premier League giants in Sunday’s draw and PNE will head to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2002.
Those who progress through to round four will land £105,000 from the Emirates FA Cup prize fund – while clubs last season received a £85,000 live broadcast fee if picked for TV. In the 2022/23 competition, there was one tie played on Friday night (8pm), two on Saturday evening (6pm and 8pm), two on Sunday (2pm and 4:30pm) and one on Monday night (8pm).
