FA Cup Draw 2015-16 Schedule: 3rd-Round Fixtures and Dates Released

Defending champions Arsenal will host Sunderland in the third round of the FA Cup, while Manchester United were paired with Sheffield United in Monday's draw.

Struggling Chelsea will play either Leyton Orient or Scunthorpe United at Stamford Bridge, 2011 winners Manchester City have an all-Premier League clash with Norwich City, and Liverpool face a trip to Exeter City.

Salford City—the lowest ranked side left in the draw—could face Championship side Derby County in the third round, but they need to beat League Two's Hartlepool United in their second-round replay on Dec. 15.

Here is the full list of fixtures for the FA Cup third round after the 44 Premier League and Championship clubs entered the draw on Monday.

Home	vs.	Away
Watford	vs.	Newcastle United
West Bromwich Albion	vs.	Bristol City
West Ham United	vs.	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Salford City or Hartlepool United	vs.	Derby County
Exeter City	vs.	Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur	vs.	Leicester City
Colchester United	vs.	Charlton Athletic
Peterborough United	vs.	Preston North End
Northampton Town	vs.	MK Dons
Arsenal	vs.	Sunderland
Newport County	vs.	Blackburn Rovers
Ipswich Town	vs.	Portsmouth
Birmingham City	vs.	Bournemouth
Wycombe Wanderers	vs.	Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday	vs.	Fulham
Oxford United	vs.	Swansea City
Brentford	vs.	Chesterfield or Walsall
Bury	vs.	Bradford City
Manchester United	vs.	Sheffield United
Everton	vs.	Dagenham & Redbridge or Whitehawk
Southampton	vs.	Crystal Palace
Eastleigh	vs.	Bolton Wanderers
Nottingham Forest	vs.	Queens Park Rangers
Carlisle United	vs.	Yeovil Town
Chelsea	vs.	Leyton Orient or Scunthorpe United
Doncaster Rovers	vs.	Stoke City
Leeds United	vs.	Rotherham United
Cardiff City	vs.	Grimsby or Shrewsbury
Huddersfield Town	vs.	Reading
Middlesbrough	vs.	Burnley
Norwich City	vs.	Manchester City
Hull City	vs.	Brighton & Hove Albion

Fixtures will be played between Jan. 8 and Jan. 11, 2016.      

The Gunners have won the storied competition in both of the last two seasons, and their campaign for a third triumph on the bounce begins at the Emirates against the Black Cats—who they beat 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday. 

Manchester United have not won the competition since 2004, but Louis van Gaal will surely be targeting a 12th FA Cup victory for the Red Devils this season.

They will be heavy favourites against the Blades at Old Trafford, but the League One side will be desperate to pull off an upset.

Chelsea's chances of retaining the Premier League this season have been all but dashed after a miserable start to the campaign. Thus, the FA Cup will likely be high in the agenda for the west London club, especially having been dumped out by Bradford City in only the fourth round last term.

The Sky Blues were also ejected at the same stage in 2014-15—by Middlesbrough—and they face a tough challenge in this year's third round against Norwich.

Liverpool had hoped to send club legend Steven Gerrard out on a high last term with FA Cup glory, but Aston Villa dashed those dreams in the semi-finals.

With Gerrard now gone and a new manager in place in the shape of Jurgen Klopp, a trip to Exeter presents a challenge, but one they have passed often in the past, per football writer Andy Kelly:

Eastleigh are the only non-League side guaranteed a place in the third round following their defeat of Stourbridge on Saturday.

The National League outfit will hope to keep the dream alive when they face Bolton Wanderers at home in the third round.

Always one of the highlights of the domestic campaign, the FA Cup third round is likely to be no different this season after the draw threw up some intriguing matchups.

An upset or two of some kind is all but guaranteed for the big guns, as nothing prompts a giant-killing quite like the oldest football competition in the world.