FA Cup 2023/24: Excitement Builds as Premier League Teams Enter the Fray

The 143rd edition of the FA Cup, the oldest club competition in the world, is set to kick off the 2023/24 football season with 732 teams from England and Wales vying for a chance to reach the showpiece at Wembley. While interest in the competition truly ramps up when Premier League and Championship teams enter in the third round, Manchester City, the defending champions, already hold the historic treble.

The schedule for this season’s FA Cup is as follows:
Extra Preliminary Round: Saturday, August 5
Preliminary Round: Saturday, August 19
First Round Qualifying: Saturday, September 2
Second Round Qualifying: Saturday, September 16
Third Round Qualifying: Saturday, September 30
Fourth Round Qualifying: Saturday, October 14
First Round: Saturday, November 4
Second Round: Saturday, December 2
Third Round: Saturday, January 6
Fourth Round: Saturday, January 27
Fifth Round: Wednesday, February 28
Quarter-Final: Saturday, March 16
Semi-Final: Saturday, April 20
Final: Saturday, May 25

The fifth-round match-ups are yet to be determined, but some potential exciting fixtures include Blackburn facing Newcastle, Chelsea or Aston Villa taking on Leeds, Bournemouth hosting Leicester, and Liverpool clashing with Southampton. Bristol City or Nottingham Forest could potentially challenge Manchester United, while Wolves will face Brighton, Coventry will meet Maidstone United, and Luton will battle against Manchester City.

As for the fourth round, replays are set for Wednesday, February 7, in the matches featuring Nottingham Forest against Bristol City and Aston Villa against Chelsea. Meanwhile, the fourth round matches concluded on Tuesday, February 6, with Southampton securing a dominant 3-0 victory over Watford, Leeds triumphing over Plymouth with a 4-1 scoreline, and Coventry defeating Sheffield Wednesday 4-1.

Earlier in the fourth round, Bournemouth stunned Swansea with a resounding 5-0 victory, while Bristol City and Nottingham Forest played out a goalless draw. Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry also ended in a draw with a 1-1 scoreline, and Chelsea and Aston Villa mirrored their result. Manchester City secured a 1-0 win against Tottenham, Ipswich faced a 1-2 defeat against Maidstone, and Leicester emerged victorious with a 3-0 triumph over Birmingham. Luton held off Everton with a 2-1 victory, Brighton outscored Sheffield United 5-2, Newcastle claimed a 2-0 victory over Fulham, and Wolves defeated West Brom by 2-0.

Moving further back to the third round, replays were held on Tuesday, January 16, with Wolves clinching a 3-2 victory over Brentford, Birmingham defeating Hull 2-1, Bristol City overcoming West Ham 1-0, Luton triumphing with a 2-1 victory against Bolton, and Newport County securing a 3-1 win against Eastleigh. On Wednesday, January 17, Nottingham Forest beat Blackpool by 3-2, while Norwich emerged victorious with a 3-1 triumph over Bristol Rovers, and Everton earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace.

The third round matches commenced with Crystal Palace and Everton drawing 0-0, Brentford and Wolves also ending in a draw with a 1-1 scoreline, Fulham snatching a 1-0 win over Rotherham, and Tottenham securing a narrow 1-0 victory against Burnley. The thrilling encounters continued as Ipswich suffered a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Wimbledon, Leicester narrowly beat Millwall 3-2, Coventry netted a remarkable six goals against Oxford United, Maidstone United edged past Stevenage with a 1-0 victory, and Newcastle cruised to a 3-0 win over Sunderland.

Other notable results from the third round include Brighton defeating Stoke 4-2, Bristol Rovers drawing 1-1 with Norwich, Southampton thrashing Walsall 4-0, Watford securing a 2-1 victory over Chesterfield, Blackburn overpowering Cambridge United with a 5-2 win, Sheffield United outscoring Gillingham 4-0, Bournemouth narrowly beating QPR with a 3-2 result, Plymouth defeating Sutton United 3-1, Newport County drawing 1-1 with Eastleigh, and Hull and Birmingham ending their match in a 1-1 draw.

As the FA Cup progresses, the excitement mounts with top-flight teams facing off in gripping encounters. Fans eagerly await the final stages of the competition, which will culminate in the eagerly anticipated final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 25.