Minor-league Macclesfield to host holder Crystal Palace in FA Cup 3rd round

By Canadian Press on December 8, 2025.

LONDON (AP) — English FA Cup holder Crystal Palace will travel to sixth-tier Macclesfield in the third round next month after the draw was made Monday.

Macclesfield, one of four minor-league clubs still in the FA Cup, sits 14th in the National League North.

In its previous guise as Macclesfield Town, the team reached the fourth round of the competition in 2013 before losing to Wigan.

Palace is flying high in the Premier League, fourth in the standings.

The draw threw up four all-Premier League ties, topped by Aston Villa’s trip to Tottenham. Everton faces Sunderland, Newcastle takes on Bournemouth and Manchester United hosts Brighton.

Premier League leader Arsenal travels to 2008 winner Portsmouth, while Wrexham landed a high-profile home clash against Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool hosts Barnsley, Manchester City faces third-tier Exeter and Chelsea visits London rival Charlton, which is in the second tier.

Full draw:

Wolves v Shrewsbury

Doncaster v Southampton

Tottenham v Aston Villa

Port Vale v Fleetwood

Preston v Wigan

Ipswich v Blackpool

Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

Charlton v Chelsea

Manchester City v Exeter

West Ham v QPR

Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

Fulham v Middlesbrough

Everton v Sunderland

Liverpool v Barnsley

Burnley v Millwall

Norwich v Walsall

Portsmouth v Arsenal

Derby v Leeds

Swansea v West Brom

Salford v Swindon

Boreham Wood v Brackley or Burton

Grimsby v Weston-super-Mare

Hull v Blackburn

Newcastle v Bournemouth

MK Dons v Oxford

Cheltenham v Leicester

Cambridge v Birmingham

Bristol City v Watford

Stoke v Coventry

Macclesfield v Crystal Palace

Manchester United v Brighton

Sheffield United v Mansfield

Ties will be played around weekend of January 10-11.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press