Chelsea to begin FA Cup defence with Southampton away

Weird as it may seem, Chelsea are still in contention for honours on five fronts this year (and that will be true no matter what happens in midweek, thanks to the Europa League). One of our favourites is the FA Cup, and we've just found out what they have in store for us this January: A trip to Southampton. Hurray!

It's not the easiest draw in the world -- there are only four all-Premier League matches in the 3rd Round -- but it's certainly not one we'd expect to cause too much trouble for the Blues, assuming that we're not still stuck in this dreadful rut come six weeks' time.

Here's the rest of the third round, to be played in the first week of January:

Crystal Palace vs. Stoke City
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Newcastle United
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Coventry City
Wigan Athletic vs. Bournemouth
Fulham vs. Blackpool
Aston Villa vs. Ipswich Town
Charlton Athletic vs. Huddersfield Town
Barrow or Macclesfield Town vs. Cardiff City
Barnsley vs. Burnley
Manchester City vs. Watford
Swansea City vs. Arsenal
Leicester City vs. Burton Albion
Millwall vs. Preston North End
Cheltenham or Hereford vs. Everton
Derby County vs. Tranmere Rovers
Crawley Town vs. Reading
Aldershot Town vs. Rotherham United or Notts County
Middlesbrough vs. Harrogate or Hastings
Accrington Stanley or Oxford United vs. Sheffield United
Southampton vs. Chelsea
Queens Park Rangers vs. West Bromwich Albion
Peterborough United vs. Norwich City
Lincoln City or Mannsfield Town vs. Liverpool
Bolton Wanderers vs. Sunderland
Nottingham Forest vs. Oldham Athletic
West Ham United vs. Manchester United
Hull City vs. Alfreton Town or Leyton Orient
Leeds United vs. Birmingham City
Blackburn Rovers vs. Bristol City
Bury or South End United vs. Bradford City or Brentford
Luton Town vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield Wednesday vs. MK Dons