FA Cup holders Arsenal face a rematch with last season’s beaten finalists Hull City in the third round of this year’s competition.
In May, Arsene Wenger’s side ended a nine-year trophy drought, as Aaron Ramsey’s extra-time goal clinched a 3-2 win over Hull at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Coincidentally, not only will the Gunners start their Cup defense against Steve Bruce’s team, but Monday’s third-round draw was held in Hull, with the Tigers boss watching on as his side were handed a trip to the Emirates Stadium in the first tie called out.
“We’d been drawn against Arsenal in the rehearsal,” Bruce told BBC Sport. “Let’s hope it is as good as the final, because it was a great game.”
Tigers captain Curtis Davies added: “I guess it was just meant to be.”
The third round of the Cup, which takes place over the first weekend of next month, will also feature a host of fascinating opportunities for memorable giant-killing acts. League Two minnows AFC Wimbledon — in the third round for the first time in their 12-year history — host Liverpool in a match which recalls the 1988 final that was won 1-0 by the original Wimbledon in one of the great FA Cup upsets as the “Crazy Gang” shocked the then-reigning English champions.
Wimbledon are a fan-run team formed from the ashes of the club that left southwest London and became Milton Keynes Dons due to falling attendances and an inability to build a new stadium in the borough.
Premier League leaders Chelsea, who won the Cup in four of the past eight seasons, are to host Championship promotion contenders Watford.
Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United go to either Accrington Stanley or Yeovil Town, who meet in a second-round replay to decide who gets the glamor tie.
Manchester City, the 2010-2011 winners, are to play at home to Sheffield Wednesday, while Sunderland are to host former giants Leeds United in a rematch of the 1972-1973 final when the Black Cats pulled off a shock 1-0 win. There are eight non-league sides in the draw, with the pick of ties with those teams seeing Dover Athletic drawn against Premier League outfit Crystal Palace.
Stoke City are to play Wrexham in a match pitting the Premier League team against a side whose memorable giant-killing act was a defeat of Arsenal in 1992, while West Bromwich Albion are to host Gateshead.
As well as Arsenal against Hull, there are three other all-Premier League ties: Burnley against Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City versus Newcastle United, and Everton against West Ham United.
Chesterfield, whose place in the competition could be in jeopardy after they were charged by the FA with fielding an ineligible player in their second-round win at MK Dons, were drawn to play Scunthorpe United or non-league Worcester City.
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