The 2018–19 FA Cup (also known as the Football Association Challenge Cup) was the 138th edition of the oldest football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. It started with the extra preliminary round on the weekend of 11 August 2018 and concluded with the final on 18 May 2019.

Premier League side Chelsea were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Manchester United, whom they beat in the previous season's final, in the fifth round. Manchester City won their sixth FA Cup title and their first since 2011. Having won the EFL Cup and the Premier League earlier in the season, they became the first English club to complete a domestic treble.

Teams Round Clubsremaining Clubsinvolved Winners fromprevious round New entriesthis round Leagues enteringat this round First round proper 124 80 32 48 24 EFL League One teams 24 EFL League Two teams Second round proper 84 40 40 none none Third round proper 64 64 20 44 20 Premier League teams 24 EFL Championship teams Fourth round proper 32 32 32 none none Fifth round proper 16 16 16 none none Quarter-finals 8 8 8 none none Semi-finals 4 4 4 none none Final 2 2 2 none none

Round and draw dates PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst match date Qualifying rounds Extra preliminary round6 July 201810 August 2018Preliminary round24 August 2018First round qualifying28 August 20188 September 2018Second round qualifying10 September 201822 September 2018Third round qualifying24 September 20186 October 2018Fourth round qualifying8 October 201820 October 2018Main tournamentFirst round proper22 October 201810 November 2018Second round proper12 November 20181 December 2018Third round proper3 December 20184 January 2019Fourth round proper7 January 201926 January 2019Fifth round proper28 January 201916 February 2019Quarter-finals18 February 201916 March 2019Semi-finals17 March 20196 April 2019Final18 May 2019

Qualifying rounds All teams that entered the competition, but were not members of the Premier League or The Football League, competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper. The qualifying competition began with the extra preliminary round on 10 August 2016, with the fourth and final qualifying round played over the weekend of 20 October.

The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Guiseley, FC Halifax Town, Salford City, Chorley, Hartlepool United, Southport, Chesterfield, York City, Solihull Moors, Wrexham, Gateshead, Stockport County, Alfreton Town, Oxford City, Hitchin Town, Woking, Maidenhead United, Slough Town, Weston-super-Mare, Boreham Wood, Metropolitan Police, Aldershot Town, Bromley, Torquay United, Hampton & Richmond Borough, Billericay Town, Sutton United, Ebbsfleet United, Maidstone United, Haringey Borough, Barnet and Dover Athletic.

Haringey Borough was the only club in this season's tournament appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the other successful qualifiers, Hampton & Richmond Borough and Hitchin Town were the only clubs not to have featured in the first round at least once in the previous decade, appearing at this stage for the first time since 2007-08 and 1995-96 respectively.

First round proper The first round draw took place on 22 October and was made by Dennis Wise and Dion Dublin. All 40 first round proper ties were to be played on the weekend of 10 November with 13 replays to be played on 20 and 21 November. 32 teams from the qualifying competition joined 48 teams from League One and League Two to compete in this round. This round included three teams from Level 7, the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition at that point: Metropolitan Police, Haringey Borough and Hitchin Town.

Second round proper

The second round draw took place on 12 November. The 40 winners of the first round proper played in 20 second round proper ties on the weekend of 1 December. This round included five teams from Level 6 (Guiseley, Slough Town, Southport, Stockport County and Woking), who were the lowest-ranked teams still in the competition. This round included an all-Welsh tie, Wrexham at home against Newport County, the first such tie in the FA Cup since the latter took on Swansea City in the first round of the 2006–07 tournament.

Third round proper The third round draw took place on 3 December 2018 and was broadcast live on BBC One and BT Sport before the final second round tie between Guiseley and Fleetwood Town. All 32 third round proper ties took place on the weekend of 4–7 January 2019. A total of 64 clubs played in the third round; 20 winners of the second round, and 44 teams from the Premier League and EFL Championship entering in this round. This round included one team from Level 6, Woking, the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.

The scheduling for the third round was controversial, due to the number of games scheduled outside the traditional kick-off slot of 15:00 GMT on Saturday. Only 10 of 32 third round proper matches kicked off at that time. This was a result of the FA signing a new overseas television deal in October 2016, which came into force this season. The new contract caused a number of matches to be moved to other time-slots to accommodate viewers outside the UK.

Fourth round proper The draw for the fourth round took place on 7 January following the Wolverhampton Wanderers-Liverpool game. It was shown on BBC and was conducted by Carl Ikeme and Robbie Keane. All 16 fourth round ties were played on the weekend of 25–28 January 2019. This round included one team from Level 5, Barnet, the lowest ranking and only non-League side left in the competition.

Fifth round proper The draw for the fifth round took place on 28 January 2019. Matches were played on the weekend of 15–18 February 2019. This round included one team from Level 4, Newport County, the lowest ranking side left in the competition. As of this season, extra time and penalties replaced replays as the method for resolving a drawn tie.

Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 18 February 2019. Matches were played on the weekend of 16–17 March 2019. This round included two teams from Level 2, Millwall and Swansea City, the lowest ranking sides left in the competition.

Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals took place on 17 March 2019.

Final

The final was played on 18 May 2019 at Wembley Stadium, London.

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Padraig Amond Newport County 5 Gabriel Jesus Manchester City3 Matt DohertyWolverhampton Wanderers4 Connor Jennings Tranmere Rovers Raúl JiménezWolverhampton Wanderers Paddy MaddenFleetwood Town Alfie MayDoncaster Rovers Ivan Toney Peterborough United 918 players 3

Broadcasting rights The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition were held by the BBC and subscription channel BT Sport. The BBC held the rights since 2014–15, while BT Sport since 2013–14. The FA Cup Final was required to be broadcast live on UK terrestrial television under the Ofcom code of protected sporting events.

The following matches were broadcast live on UK television:

Round Date Teams Kick-off Channels Digital TV First round 9 November Haringey Borough v AFC Wimbledon 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC Two 10 November Maidenhead United v Portsmouth 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 11 November Port Vale v Sunderland 2:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 12 November Hampton & Richmond Borough v Oldham Athletic 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 First round (Replay) 20 November Oxford City v Tranmere Rovers 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 21 November Salford City v Shrewsbury Town 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 Second round 30 November Solihull Moors v Blackpool 4:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC Two 1 December F.C. Halifax Town v AFC Wimbledon 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 2 December Wrexham v Newport County 8:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 3 December Guiseley v Fleetwood Town 8:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 Second round (Replay) 17 December Southport v Tranmere Rovers 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 18 December Blackpool v Solihull Moors 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 Third round 4 January Tranmere Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 5 January Manchester United v Reading 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Blackpool v Arsenal 5:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 6 January Woking v Watford 2:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Newport County v Leicester City 4:30pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 7 January Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool 7:45pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Third round (Replay) 15 January Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 16 January Southampton v Derby County 8:05pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Fourth round 25 January Arsenal v Manchester United 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 26 January Accrington Stanley v Derby County 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Millwall v Everton 5:30pm BBC iPlayer BBC One AFC Wimbledon v West Ham United 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 27 January Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur 4:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday 6:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 28 January Barnet v Brentford 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Fourth round (Replay) 5 February Newport County v Middlesbrough 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 6 February West Bromwich Albion v Brighton & Hove Albion 8:05pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Fifth round 15 February Queens Park Rangers v Watford 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 16 February Brighton & Hove Albion v Derby County 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Newport County v Manchester City 5:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 17 February Bristol City v Wolverhampton Wanderers 1:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Swansea City v Brentford 4:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Wales Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace 4:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 18 February Chelsea v Manchester United 7:30pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Quarter-finals 16 March Watford v Crystal Palace 12:15pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Swansea City v Manchester City 5:20pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 17 March Millwall v Brighton & Hove Albion 5:30pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Semi finals 6 April Manchester City v Brighton 5:30pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 7 April Watford v Wolverhampton Wanderers 4:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Final 18 May Manchester City v Watford 5:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One BT Sport App BT Sport 2

Notes

References

External links The official FA Cup website