Chelsea v Preston North End: When will the FA Cup third round tie be played? Will it be on TV? What's been the reaction to the draw? | OneFootball

One of the most anticipated dates on the English footballing calendar is the third round draw for the FA Cup, which always usually takes place in early December.

It brings every single Championship and Premier League side into the mix, with those 44 outfits added to the 20 lower league and sometimes non-league teams that make it through the rounds and into the last 64.

It gives a chance for smaller teams in the pyramid to draw a real big gun and make some money, but in Preston North End of the Championship's case, they have already played all of the biggest clubs in England at home in the 21st century.

Tottenham Hotspur visited Deepdale last season in the FA Cup, as well as in 2009 in the EFL Cup, and in that competition the likes of Liverpool and Man City have also made the trip to the Lancashire side in 2021 and 2019 respectively.

In the FA Cup, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United have all faced the Lilywhites since 2009, but what has avoided PNE in that time is an away trip to one of the big guns of the country.

They do not have to wait any longer though as the draw for this year's FA Cup third round was made on Sunday, and it has thrown up a trip to London for PNE to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

When will Chelsea v Preston North End be played?

The FA Cup third round will be played the weekend commencing January 6, which is a Saturday, although there is expected to be a Friday night match like there was last season.

That particular season had only 10 Saturday 3pm kick-offs out of 32 matches, with one Friday night contest, a Monday night game and the rest staggered over different time-slots on the Saturday and Sunday.

With Chelsea still involved in the EFL Cup though and the fact they will be playing on the Tuesday or Wednesday after the FA Cup weekend if they manage to navigate their way past Newcastle United, it is likely that a Monday night match between the Blues and PNE is out of the window.

The date and time will be confirmed on Friday though, but North End are set to get a hefty allocation for their visit to West London, with the club confirming that initial indications are that up to 6,000 tickets will be made available.

Will Chelsea v Preston North End be on TV?

There is set to be six third round clashes on television in the UK, with confirmation of the ties selected coming on Friday.

Even if Chelsea v North End is not picked though, the time could get moved from a 3pm due to international broadcasting.

There seems to be a few locked in picks for television selection though, namely Wigan v Man United, the Tyne-Wear derby between Sunderland and Newcastle and then Arsenal against Liverpool.

Middlesbrough against high-flying Aston Villa also has a good chance of being selected, and with no other ties really standing out, that leaves the likes of Man City v Huddersfield and Mauricio Pochettino's side against Ryan Lowe's men as likely other picks by ITV and the BBC.

What has been the reaction to Preston North End drawing Chelsea?

With many North End fans of a certain generation having not seen the club play one of the 'Big Six' since 2002 away from home, when Chelsea defeated PNE in the FA Cup fifth round 3-1, there has been much excitement over finally getting a trip to one of England's giants.

This fan, whilst not hopeful of getting anything out of the contest, is still excited about a trip to London - although anything is possible in the Cup, like when Bradford City defeated the Blues in 2015!

Another PNE supporter meanwhile was in shock that they finally drew a big team away from home...

This PNE fan meanwhile is praying for a Monday night trip to the capital, even though it doesn't look likely due to Chelsea's EFL Cup involvement...

This Chelsea fan however is already thinking about round four - something which could end up backfiring.