Chelsea get never before seen opposition in FA Cup third round

After almost a century and a fifth of action at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will entertain never before seen opposition from the English football pyramid.

Earlier today, the Blues were drawn against Morecambe FC In the third round of the FA Cup, set to take place the second weekend of January.

Chelsea have played against at least 110 different teams in domestic competitions. Now it will be at least 111. (Maybe the club or an historian will provide an exact count before the match.)

“The Shrimps”, who finished 90th out of 92 teams in the top four divisions last season, will surely be the proverbial prawns in the Chelsea sandwich, but that won’t take away from the magnitude of the occasion. (And just imagine a Bradford City-esque an upset! Actually, let’s not.)

In any case, the morbid curiosity of the occasion might get this one televised, which would be nice.

The FA Cup third round draw, with exact dates and times yet to be confirmed, in full is as follows.

Huddersfield v Plymouth
Southampton v Shrewsbury
Chorley v Derby County
Marine v Tottenham Hotspur
Wolves v Crystal Palace
Stockport County v West Ham
Oldham Athletic v AFC Bournemouth
Manchester United v Watford
Stevenage v Swansea City
Everton v Rotherham
Nottingham Forest v Cardiff
Arsenal v Newcastle
Barnsley v Tranmere Rovers
Bristol Rovers v Sheffield United
Canvey Island or Boreham Wood v Millwall
Blackburn Rovers v Doncaster Rovers
Stoke City v Leicester City
Wycombe Wanderers v Preston North End
Crawley Town v Leeds United
Burnley v MK Dons
Bristol City v Portsmouth
QPR v Fulham
Aston Villa v Liverpool
Brentford v Middlesbrough
Manchester City v Birmingham City
Luton Town v Reading
CHELSEA v Morecambe
Exeter City v Sheff Wed
Norwich City v Coventry City
Blackpool v West Brom
Newport County v Brighton
Cheltenham Town v Mansfield Town