Tottenham drawn vs. Portsmouth in FA Cup third round

Lest we forget, Tottenham Hotspur are a football club that participates in a number of competitions over the course of the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Today, we got a reminder of that while the World Cup continues to dominate attention, because the draw for the third round of the FA Cup took place today and almost nobody had any idea it was happening.

And it’s an interesting draw! Tottenham were drawn at home to League One side Portsmouth, with the match scheduled to take place the first week of January.

You have probably read more than one story about Portsmouth on this very website over the past few months because that’s where Dane Scarlett is currently playing his football on loan. That’s cool! Fortunately, generally clubs prohibit their loanees from playing against their home clubs in competition. That means we don’t have to worry about Cuti Romero putting a two legged tackle through Dane’s shins in this match, because Dane won’t be playing.

On balance, this is a pretty good draw for Spurs. Pompey are seventh in the League One table and look like a team that should be pushing for a spot in the promotion playoffs by the end of the season. They also have a massive supporter base — they’re one of the bigger clubs in the country — so drawing them at home means Spurs will avoid a trap game at a full Fratton Park.

The draw served up a few other tasty matchups, none bigger than Manchester City traveling to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea. Manchester United drew Everton, Brentford drew West Ham, and Arsenal are traveling to League One side Oxford United in a matchup that might be tricker than everyone assumes.

Here’s the FA Cup third round draw, in full.

• Preston North End vs Huddersfield Town
• Middlesbrough vs Brighton and Hove Albion
• Chesterfield vs West Bromwich Albion
• Manchester City vs Chelsea
• Charlton Athletic or Stockport County vs Walsall
• Boreham Wood vs Accrington Stanley
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Portsmouth
• Derby County vs Barnsley
• Cardiff City vs Leeds United
• Brentford vs West Ham United
• Bournemouth vs Burnley
• Coventry City vs Wrexham
• Norwich City vs Blackburn Rovers
• Aston Villa vs Stevenage
• Luton Town vs Wigan Athletic
• Oxford United vs Arsenal
• Fleetwood Town vs QPR
• Liverpool vs Wolves
• Grimsby Town vs Burton Albion
• Blackpool vs Nottingham Forest
• Dagenham and Redbridge or Gillingham vs Leicester City
• Forest Green Rovers vs Birmingham City
• Bristol City vs Swansea City
• Hartlepool United vs Stoke City
• Hull City vs Fulham
• Crystal Palace vs Southampton
• Millwall vs Sheffield United
• Shrewsbury Town vs Sunderland
• Sheffield Wednesday vs Newcastle United
• Manchester United vs Everton
• Reading vs Watford
• Ipswich Town vs Rotherham