Goal brings you all you need to know about the oldest competition in football, with the fifth round set to get under way

England's FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world and this season it has returned for the 138th time.

The tournament involves teams from the 10th level of the English football pyramid to the top and will see a total of 736 teams take part.

With a rich history stretching back to the 19th century, there have been plenty of moments to savour through the years and clubs will be eager to dabble in the 'Magic of the Cup'.

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Chelsea are the reigning champions, while Arsenal are the most successful club in the history of the competition – though the Gunners were knocked out during the fourth round in a 3-1 defeat to Premier League rivals Manchester United.

With one-off knockout games there is always, however, a chance of a 'giant killing'.

With the 2018-19 edition under way, Goal brings you everything you need to know about this season's FA Cup.

When did the FA Cup start & when is the final?
The first round proper of this season's FA Cup began on Friday November 9, 2018 with 48 clubs from League One and League Two entering at that stage.

Premier League and Championship clubs do not enter the competition until the third round proper, which began on the weekend of Saturday January 5, 2019.

FA Cup Trophy

Before the first round proper, there were a number of qualifying rounds involving teams from the lower rungs of English football, beginning with the extra preliminary qualifying round, which was played on August 10.

Including the extra preliminary round, there were a total of six qualifying rounds before teams from the Football League enter.

The 2019 FA Cup final is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18 and it will be held at Wembley.

FA Cup fifth round
FA Cup fifth round draw took place on January 28 following the likes of Everton getting knocked out by Championship side Millwall and West Ham also suffering an early exit at the hands of League One stragglers Wimbledon.

Chelsea will host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in a repeat of last season's final.

Fixtures set to take place the weekend of February 15-18.

Date Match TV?
Feb 15 QPR vs Watford BT Sport 2
Feb 16 Brighton or West Brom vs Derby County BT Sport 2
Feb 16 Wimbledon vs Millwall No
Feb 16 Newport County vs Man City BT Sport 2
Feb 17 Bristol City vs Wolves BT Sport 2
Feb 17 Doncaster Rovers vs Crystal Palace BBC One
Feb 17 Swansea vs Brentford BBC Wales
Feb 18 Chelsea vs Man United BBC One
*Dates subject to change.

FA Cup fourth round
FA Cup fourth round draw took place on January 7 following Liverpool's shock defeat at newly-promoted Premier League side Wolves.

Arsenal hosted Manchester United at the Emirates in the biggest match-up of the draw, with the Red Devils knocking out the North Londoners in an emphatic 3-1 away victory.

Fixtures set to take place the weekend of January 25-28 .

Date Match TV?
Jan 25 Arsenal 1-3 Man United BBC One
Jan 25 Bristol City 2-1 Bolton No
Jan 26 Shrewsbury Town 2-2 Wolves No
Jan 26 Newcastle United 0-2 Watford No
Jan 26 Brighton 0-0 West Brom No
Jan 26 Man City 5-0 Burnley No
Jan 26 Swansea 4-1 Gillingham No
Jan 26 Accrington Stanley 0-1 Derby County BT Sport 2
Jan 26 Portsmouth 1-1 QPR No
Jan 26 Middlesbrough 1-1 Newport No
Jan 26 Doncaster 2-1 Oldham No
Jan 26 Millwall 3-2 Everton BBC One
Jan 26 AFC Wimbledon 4-2 West Ham BT Sport 2
Jan 27 Crystal Palace 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur BT Sport 2
Jan 27 Chelsea 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday BBC One
Jan 28 Barnet 3-3 Brentford BT Sport 2
FA Cup fourth-round replays
Date Match TV?
Feb 5 Newport County 2-0 Middlesbrough BT Sport 2
Feb 5 Wolves 3-2 Shrewsbury No
Feb 5 QPR 2-0 Portsmouth No
Feb 5 Brentford 3-1 Barnet No
Feb 6 West Brom vs Brighton BBC One
*Dates subject to change.

FA Cup third round
The FA Cup third round draw was made on December 3, with Wolves vs Liverpool and Bournemouth vs Brighton the only two all-Premier League meetings.

The matches took place between January 4 and 7, with Wolves pulling off the upset of the tie after seeing Premier League leaders Liverpool off at Molineux.

Date Match TV?
Jan 4 Tranmere Rovers 0-7 Tottenham BT Sport 2
Jan 5 Manchester United 2-0 Reading BT Sport 2
Jan 5 Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Stoke City No
Jan 5 Bournemouth 1-3 Brighton No
Jan 5 West Ham 2-0 Birmingham City No
Jan 5 Burnley 1-0 Barnsley No
Jan 5 West Brom 1-0 Wigan No
Jan 5 Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Luton Town No
Jan 5 Bolton Wanderers 5-2 Walsall No
Jan 5 Gillingham 1-0 Cardiff City No
Jan 5 Brentford 1-0 Oxford United No
Jan 5 Everton 2-1 Lincoln City No
Jan 5 Chelsea 2-0 Nottingham Forest No
Jan 5 Derby County 2-2 Southampton No
Jan 5 Accrington Stanley 1-0 Ipswich Town No
Jan 5 Fleetwood Town 2-3 AFC Wimbledon No
Jan 5 Middlesbrough 5-0 Peterborough No
Jan 5 Aston Villa 0-3 Swansea No
Jan 5 Bristol City 1-0 Huddersfield Town No
Jan 5 Newcastle United 1-1 Blackburn Rovers No
Jan 5 Norwich City 0-1 Portsmouth No
Jan 5 Crystal Palace 1-0 Grimsby Town No
Jan 5 Blackpool 0-3 Arsenal BT Sport 2
Jan 6 Manchester City 7-0 Rotherham No
Jan 6 Fulham 1-2 Oldham Athletic No
Jan 6 Sheffield United 0-1 Barnet No
Jan 6 Millwall 2-1 Hull City No
Jan 6 Preston North End 1-3 Doncaster Rovers No
Jan 6 QPR 2-1 Leeds United No
Jan 6 Woking 0-2 Watford BT Sport 2
Jan 6 Newport 2-1 Leicester City BBC One
Jan 7 Wolves 2-1 Liverpool BBC One
FA Cup third-round replays
Date Match TV?
Jan 15 Luton Town 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday No
Jan 15 Blackburn Rovers 2-4 Newcastle United (AET) BT Sport 2
Jan 15 Stoke City 2-3 Shrewsbury Town No
Jan 16 Southampton 2-2 Derby County (3-5 pens.) BBC One
*Dates subject to change.

FA Cup second round
The second-round draw of the FA Cup took place on November 12 following the conclusion of the first round.

At that point, forty teams remained in the competition as sides fought it out for a place in round three, which is when sides from the Premier League and the Championship enter the fray.

The round required five games to go to a replay.

Date Match TV?
Nov 30 Solihull Moors 0-0 Blackpool BBC Two
Dec 1 Halifax 1-3 AFC Wimbledon BT Sport 1
Dec 1 Southend United 2-4 Barnsley No
Dec 1 Peterborough United 2-2 Bradford City No
Dec 1 Maidstone United 0-2 Oldham Athletic No
Dec 1 Lincoln City 2-0 Carlisle United No
Dec 1 Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Oxford United No
Dec 1 Walsall 1-1 Sunderland No
Dec 1 Accrington Stanley 3-1 Cheltenham Town No
Dec 1 Charlton Athletic 0-2 Doncaster Rovers No
Dec 1 Wrexham 0-0 Newport County BT Sport 1
Dec 2 Bury 0-1 Luton Town No
Dec 2 Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Southport No
Dec 2 Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Scunthorpe United No
Dec 2 Chesterfield 0-2 Grimsby Town No
Dec 2 Swindon Town 0-1 Woking No
Dec 2 Barnet 1-0 Stockport County No
Dec 2 Rochdale 0-1 Portsmouth No
Dec 2 Slough Town 0-1 Gillingham No
Dec 3 Guiseley 1-2 Fleetwood Town BT Sport 1
FA Cup second-round replays
Date Match TV?
Dec 11 Newport County 4-0 Wrexham No
Dec 11 Bradford City 4-4 Peterborough United (2-3 pens.) No
Dec 11 Sunderland 0-1 Walsall No
Dec 17 Southport 0-2 Tranmere Rovers BT Sport 1
Dec 18 Blackpool 3-2 Solihull Moors BT Sport 1
FA Cup first round
The first-round draw of the FA Cup took place on Monday following the conclusion of the fourth qualifying round, which wrapped up on the weekend of October 20.

Forty-eight teams from League One and League Two enter the competition at this stage, where they will join the 32 winners from the previous round.

Among those in the pot are two teams from the seventh tier of English football, Southern League Premier Division side Metropolitan Police and Isthmian Premier's Haringey Borough, and Weston Super-Mare of the sixth-tier National League South.

Date Match TV?
Nov 9 Haringey Borough 0-1 Wimbledon BBC Two
Nov 10 Maidenhead United 0-4 Portsmouth BT Sport 1
Nov 10 Maidstone United 2-1 Macclesfield Town No
Nov 10 Ebbsfleet United 0-0 Cheltenham Town No
Nov 10 Swindon Town 2-1 York City No
Nov 10 Torquay United 0-1 Woking No
Nov 10 Scunthorpe United 2-1 Burton Albion No
Nov 10 Aldershot Town 1-1 Bradford City No
Nov 10 Grimsby Town 3-1 MK Dons No
Nov 10 Bromley 1-3 Peterborough United No
Nov 10 Southport 2-0 Boreham Wood No
Nov 10 Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Stevenage No
Nov 10 Chesterfield 1-1 Billericay Town No
Nov 10 Lincoln City 3-2 Northampton Town No
Nov 10 Yeovil Town 1-3 Stockport County No
Nov 10 Bury 5-0 Dover Athletic No
Nov 10 Gillingham 0-0 Hartlepool United No
Nov 10 Oxford United 0-0 Forest Green Rovers No
Nov 10 Tranmere Rovers 3-3 Oxford City No
Nov 10 Accrington Stanley 1-0 Colchester United No
Nov 10 Barnsley 4-0 Notts County No
Nov 10 Metropolitan Police 0-2 Newport County No
Nov 10 Walsall 3-2 Coventry City No
Nov 10 Rochdale 2-1 Gateshead No
Nov 10 Sutton United 0-0 Slough Town No
Nov 10 Exeter City 2-3 Blackpool No
Nov 10 Luton Town 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers No
Nov 10 Morecambe 0-0 Halifax Town No
Nov 10 Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Carlisle United No
Nov 10 Southend United 1-1 Crawley Town No
Nov 11 Mansfield Town 1-1 Charlton Athletic No
Nov 11 Chorley 2-2 Doncaster Rovers No
Nov 11 Alfreton Town 1-4 Fleetwood Town No
Nov 11 Barnet 1-1 Bristol Rovers No
Nov 11 Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Salford City No
Nov 11 Hitchin Town 0-2 Solihull Motors No
Nov 11 Guiseley 4-3 Cambridge United No
Nov 11 Weston Super Mare 0-2 Wrexham No
Nov 11 Port Vale 1-2 Sunderland BT Sport 1
Nov 12 Hampton & Richmond Borough 1-2 Oldham Athletic BT Sport 1
FA Cup first-round replays
Date Match TV?
Nov 20 Cheltenham Town 2-0 Ebbsfleet United No
Nov 20 Charlton Athletic 5-0 Mansfield Town No
Nov 20 Bradford City 1-1 Aldershot Town (4-1 pens.) No
Nov 20 Doncaster Rovers 7-0 Chorley No
Nov 20 Billericay Town 1-3 Chesterfield No
Nov 20 Forest Green Rovers 0-3 Oxford United No
Nov 20 Oxford City 0-2 Tranmere Rovers BT Sport 1
Nov 20 Slough Town vs Sutton United (8-7 pens.) No
Nov 20 Halifax Town 1-0 Morecambe No
Nov 20 Crawley Town 2-6 Southend United No
Nov 21 Salford City 1-3 Shrewsbury Town BT Sport 1
Nov 21 Bristol Rovers 1-2 Barnet No
Nov 21 Hartlepool United 3-4 Gillingham No
FA Cup TV channel & stream
FA Cup 2018

UK TV channel Online stream
BBC / BT Sport BBC iPlayer / BT Sport app
The FA Cup will be broadcast on the BBC and BT Sport in the United Kingdom.

Both networks will air the final and will share the rest of the competition, taking turns to select the games they wish to broadcast.

All matches shown by the BBC and BT Sport will be available to stream on their respective websites and apps.


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US TV channel Online stream
N/A ESPN+
In the United States, the rights to the FA Cup are owned by ESPN, but the games will exclusively be streamed online via ESPN+.

That means the games will not be shown live on television in the US.