FA Cup 3rd Round Draw: United to meet Reading

Manchester United’s 2018/19 Emirates FA Cup campaign will begin with a third-round tie against Reading at Old Trafford.

The exact date of the tie is still to be determined but it will definitely be played on 4, 5, 6 or 7 January, a few days after our Premier League match at Newcastle United on Wednesday 2 January.

The Royals are currently 21st in the Championship and we last faced them in January 2017 - in the FA Cup third round - when a 4-0 win was secured thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford (2), Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney.

Jose Mourinho and the players are all determined to win the FA Cup this season, particularly after going so close in the historic competition in 2017/18 by reaching the final and finishing as runners-up.

In the previous season, the Reds reached the quarter-finals and exited after a defeat to eventual finalists Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where the boss was without many players due to injury.

As a club, we last won the FA Cup in 2016 and that was our 12th time lifting the iconic trophy – which was a record at the time of that famous extra-time win over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Arsenal, our Premier League opponents at Old Trafford this coming Wednesday night, drew level with that tally of 12 wins following their success in 2017.

THE FA CUP THIRD-ROUND DRAW IN FULL

Bolton Wanderers v Walsall or Sunderland
Millwall v Hull City
Gillingham v Cardiff City
Brentford v Oxford United
Sheffield Wednesday v Luton Town
Manchester United v Reading
Everton v Lincoln City
Tranmere Rovers or Southport v Tottenham
Preston North End v Doncaster
Newcastle v Blackburn
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace v Grimsby Town
Derby County v Southampton
Accrington Stanley v Ipswich Town
Bristol City v Huddersfield Town
Wrexham v Leicester City
Fulham v Oldham Athletic
Shrewsbury Town v Stoke City
Solihull Moors or Blackpool v Arsenal
Manchester City v Rotherham
Bournemouth v Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham v Birmingham City
Woking v Watford
Burnley v Barnsley
QPR v Leeds United
Sheffield United v Barnet
Norwich City v Portsmouth
Guiseley or Fleetwood v Wimbledon
West Bromwich Albion v Wigan Athletic
Middlesbrough v Peterborough or Bradford
Wolves v Liverpool
Aston Villa v Swansea City