The FA Cup Fourth Round draw is set to take place this evening with 41 teams awaiting their fate. While 23 of the 32 third-round matches delivered an outright winner, eight of them are going to need a replay and one – the final match of the round – is set to take place tonight. Ahead of the fourth round draw, here is everything you need to know.
When is the FA Cup fourth round draw?
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The FA Cup fourth round draw is set to take place on Monday 8 December. The draw will be made before kick off at the DW Stadium where Wigan Athletic are hosting Manchester United in the final third round tie of the weekend.
The match between Wigan and Man Utd is set to kick off at 20:15 and the draw is expected to start around 25 minutes beforehand at approximately 19:50 UK time. This means that Wigan and Man Utd are both in the hat for the fourth round draw despite neither side kicking a ball in this year's FA Cup yet.
How to watch the FA Cup fourth round draw
The FA Cup fourth round draw will be shown live on ITV1. The draw will be part of ITV's pre-match coverage for the match between Wigan and Man Utd which means you can expect the ITV punditry team to be pulling the balls out of the hat.
To stream the draw, fans can use ITVX which is available online via a web browser or via the ITVx app which is available to download for free on mobile devices and tablets.
What are the fourth round ball numbers?
The full list of ball numbers for the FA Cup fourth round draw are as follows:
1. Luton Town or Bolton Wanderers
2. Wrexham
3. Liverpool
4. Brighton & Hove Albion
5. Norwich City or Bristol Rovers
6. West Ham United or Bristol City
7. Tottenham Hotspur
8. Fulham
9. West Bromwich Albion
10. Southampton
11. Ipswich Town
12. Leeds United
13. Leicester City
14. Watford
15. Newcastle United
16. Sheffield Wednesday
17. Crystal Palace or Everton
18. Aston Villa
19. Nottingham Forest or Blackpool
20. Wigan Athletic or Manchester United
21. Manchester City
22. Blackburn Rovers
23. Sheffield United
24. Swansea City
25. Chelsea
26. AFC Bournemouth
27. Coventry City
28. Brentford or Wolverhampton Wanderers
29. Plymouth Argyle
30. Maidstone United
31. Newport County or Eastleigh
32. Hull City or Birmingham City
How are the FA Cup ball numbers decided?
Contrary to popular belief the numbers on each of the balls in FA Cup draws aren't just allocated at random to certain teams. Instead, each number has a direct correlation to how early or late that team was pulled out of the hat in the previous round.
For example, Luton vs Bolton was the first tie out of the hat during the third round draw so that is why both teams have been allocated ball number one for the fourth round draw. In earlier rounds, alphabetical order is also used to provide each team with a designated ball number.
When is the FA Cup fourth round?
The FA Cup fourth round is set to take place over the weekend of the 27 and 28 January 2024. As with the third round, it is expected that broadcasters will select games to be played on Friday 26 January and Monday 29 January too. The full fixture list and TV matches will be revealed shortly after the draw is completed.