Tottenham drawn home to Aston Villa in FA Cup third round

SB Nation

Hey, did you know there was an FA Cup draw today? I sure didn’t! But it’s true — the draw for the FA Cup third round was held today, and Tottenham Hotspur drew a toughie. Spurs were drawn home to Aston

Villa, one of the most difficult matchups in the draw. The match will take place the weekend of January 10, 2026.

If you’re going to win the FA Cup you have to play and beat a lot of tough teams, but this is rough draw, especially in the third round. It’s almost more likely you’ll draw a lower-league team than not, so hooking a whale like Villa feels pretty unlucky. Villa started the season winless in their first five league matches but have rocketed up the table since under Unai Emery; they’re currently third after beating Arsenal at home this past weekend.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s the biggest match of the round. Everton also drew home to Sunderland, while Newcastle are home to Bournemouth and United are home to Brighton in the only matchups featuring Premier League opponents. Meanwhile, Arsenal drew away to Portsmouth, and Ryan Mason’s West Brom are away at Swansea City.

For those of you curious about these sorts of things, here’s the full draw.