FA Cup Second Round Draw Features Blackpool Hosting Birmingham City

The FA Cup second round will feature a total of 20 fixtures, including a match-up between former Premier League clubs Blackpool and Birmingham City. Blackpool, past winners of the FA Cup and currently 16th in League One, will host Birmingham, who are the leaders of League One. This particular fixture will see Blackpool’s manager, Steve Bruce, compete against his former club, having previously played for and managed Birmingham City from 2001 to 2007. Tamworth, one of ten non-league teams included in the second-round draw, secured an away fixture against Burton Albion after their upset victory over Huddersfield on Friday. Kettering Town, having eliminated Northampton, will be rewarded with a home match against Doncaster Rovers, while Harborough Town, another seventh-tier club, will travel to face League One side Reading. Gainsborough Trinity, positioned third from the bottom in the Northern Premier League, holds the distinction of being the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition and is scheduled to travel to North Yorkshire to play Harrogate Town. Manager Russ Wilcox commented on BBC Two, stating, “When you’ve waited 72 years to get into round two you’ll take anything, but it’s not too far for the fans to travel so it’s a great tie.” He added, “The fans have stuck with us, they’ve been behind us from day one, so hopefully we can reward them again and get in with the big boys.” These fixtures are scheduled to occur between 29 November and 2 December. The full list of second-round matches is as follows: Salford City v Cheltenham Town Walsall v Charlton Athletic Exeter City v Chesterfield Leyton Orient v Oldham Athletic Barnsley v Bristol Rovers AFC Wimbledon v Dagenham & Redbridge Accrington Stanley v Swindon Town Crawley Town v Lincoln City Burton Albion v Tamworth Blackpool v Birmingham City Stevenage v Mansfield Town Peterborough United v Notts County Stockport County v Brackley Town Wealdstone v Wycombe Wanderers Morecambe v Bradford City Solihull Moors v Bromley Kettering Town v Doncaster Rovers Reading v Harborough Town Harrogate Town v Gainsborough Trinity Cambridge United v Wigan Athletic