Newcastle United will face AFC Bournemouth at St James’ Park in the FA Cup third round after Monday’s draw.
Joe
Cole and Peter Crouch conducted the draw, which placed Newcastle as ball number 26 against Bournemouth, who were ball number one. The tie will be played across the weekend of Jan. 10, with the exact date to be confirmed.
Newcastle enter the competition alongside the other Premier League and Championship clubs, as everybody is finally allowed to join the FA Cup party.
Last season, Eddie Howe’s side reached the fifth round with wins over Bromley and Birmingham City before losing to Brighton and Hove Albion after extra time.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, matched their best run in the competition last year by reaching the quarterfinals, beating West Brom, Everton and Wolves before losing 2-1 to Manchester City.
The draw sets up another meeting between Howe and his former club. Newcastle earned a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth in September, the only meeting so far this season between Howe’s and Andoni Iraola’s sides.
Newcastle’s fixture will fall between home league matches against Crystal Palace on Jan. 4 and Leeds United on Jan. 7, and before the team travels to face Wolverhampton Wanderers the following weekend.
Other notable fixtures drawn include Tottenham Hotspur hosting Aston Villa, Manchester United against Brighton, Portsmouth welcoming Arsenal, and Charlton Athletic drawn at home to Chelsea.
