Are there replays in the FA Cup third round this weekend? Premier League clubs helped by major rule change

The FA Cup third round gets underway this weekend, with the Premier League and Championship teams entering the draw.

Crystal Palace will begin their defence of football’s oldest cup competition with an away trip to non league outfit Macclesfield.

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The Eagles will be rivalled by other big-hitters, with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all in action.

Meanwhile, two other sides join Macclesfield among the non league clubs looking to cause a major upset.

National League outfit Boreham Wood will face League One Burton Albion, while sixth-tier Weston-super-Mare have been rewarded with a trip to League Two team Grimsby Town.

And each team will need to be at their best on the day, with only one shot at booking their spot in the fourth round.

Are there FA Cup replays this weekend?

Replays will not be used during the full rounds of the 2025/26 FA Cup, meaning all third-round fixtures will be only be played once.

Last season, replays were scrapped during the full rounds of the competition, and the FA have kept that in place for this season.

As a result, if a match is still level at the end of the regulation 90 minutes, it will go to extra time.

And if neither side can find a winner in the additional 30 minutes, then the tie is decided by a penalty shootout.

The decision to scrap replays was announced in April 2024 after the FA agreed a new scheduling deal with the Premier League.

This agreement will remain in place for the next six years, with the Premier League pledging to invest an extra £33million into grassroots football.

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The FA highlighted ‘player welfare’ and a ‘congested calendar’ as being behind the reason for their decisions.

Champions League and Europa League games are now played in January, increasing the load on players.

In a statement at the time, the FA said: “Removing Emirates FA Cup replays was discussed in the early meetings and all parties accepted that they could not continue.

“The discussions then focused on how to make all of our competitions stronger, despite having fewer dates available and wanting to maintain player welfare.”

Why has scrapping replays been controversial?

In theory, scrapping replays eases fixture congestion for both EFL clubs, and Premier League teams competing in Europe.

But not everyone saw the decision this way, with the move being widely criticised by those outside of the Premier League.

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In response to the FA’s announcement, the EFL said that they had not been consulted and that the decision was ‘agreed solely between the Premier League and FA.”

At the time, the decision sparked a furious response from talkSPORT host Andy Goldstein, who urged non-Premier League clubs to boycott the FA Cup in response.

Blasting the decision to prioritise scheduling, Goldstein said: “I don’t really care about that, right.

“By scrapping replays, it’s really simple, you just take away the opportunity for small clubs to make some money and lots of it.

“We know how hard it is to keep the clubs afloat in the Championship and in League One and Two. It’s practically impossible right, to make any kind of profit.

“I just think you’re giving clubs a lifeline by giving them the opportunity to have a replay at a massive club in an FA Cup third round and you’re taking that away from them.

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“I don’t see the benefits. I understand the benefit for the bigger clubs. If you’re Man United, you’re Chelsea or Liverpool and you play any kind of European football at your doorstep, the last thing you want is a replay.

“I totally get it. But it’s the big clubs getting bigger and the smaller clubs getting smaller.”