FA Cup draw: Portsmouth handed huge third-round tie against Premier League giants as Ipswich Town, West Ham and Southampton learn fate
Pompey have been handed a huge FA Cup third-round draw
Pompey have been handed a huge home tie in the third round of this season’s FA Cup.
The Blues are set to welcome Premier League leaders Arsenal to Fratton Park in the New Year, for the first meeting between the two sides in six years.
The Gunners last visited PO4 in 2020 in the fifth round of the same competition, with Mikel Arteta’s men running out 2-0 winners on the south coast.
The Spaniard made wholesale changes for his last trip to Fratton as they progressed to the quarter finals following strikes from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah. Arsenal would go on to lift the title at the end of the Covid-affected 2019-20 campaign.
The north London outfit were the highest seed in the draw, with Premier League and Championship sides entering the competition in the third-round stage.
Arteta’s men sit top of the Premier League at present and are just two points clear of second-placed Manchester City.
Meanwhile, the Blues occupy a place in the Championship relegation zone, having picked up 17 points from the opening games of the season.
Pompey’s previous tie against Premier League opposition came against Tottenham Hotspur in January 2023, with Simon Bassey’s troops falling to a 1-0 defeat.
Third-round ties will take place between January 9th and 12th.
Check out the full first round draw below.
Full FA Cup third-round draw
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town
Doncaster Rovers v Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
Port Vale v Fleetwood Town
Preston North End v Wigan Athletic
Ipswich Town v Blackpool
Wrexham v Nottingham Forest
Charlton Athletic v Chelsea
Manchester City v Exeter City
West Ham v QPR
Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford
Fulham v Middlesbrough
Everton v Sunderland
Liverpool v Barnsley
Burnley v Millwall
Norwich City v Walsall
Pompey v Arsenal
Derby County v Leeds United
Swansea City v West Brom
Salford City v Swindon Town
Boreham Wood v Brackley or Burton Albion
Grimsby Town v Weston-Super-Mare
Hull City v Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United v Bournemouth
MK Dons v Oxford United
Cheltenham Town v Leicester City
Cambridge United v Birmingham City
Bristol City v Watford
Stoke City v Coventry City
Maccesfield v Crystal Palace
Manchester United v Brighton
Sheffield United v Mansfield Town.