In the FA Cup's Fourth Round which is nearing its conclusion, matches should be tighter affairs with the most competitive teams left standing in the Round of 32.
The Fourth Round has a handful of matchups without an obvious favorite, most involving teams outside the Premier League. We've also seen two all-Premier League matchups, including Manchester City beating Arsenal and Brighton dumping out holders Liverpool.
With the matchups taking place this weekend and Derby vs West Ham to close the show on Monday, January 30, there are bound to be contests that are deadlocked after the full 90 minutes. The Sporting News brings you the details of what happens if matches end in a draw after regulation.
MORE: When is the 2022/23 FA Cup final?
What happens if FA Cup match ends in a draw?
In contrast to quite a few of the other big cup competitions in European football, certain FA Cup matches go to a replay if the original matchup ends in a draw.
Unlike the 2021/22 COVID-affected campaign, which saw most FA Cup matches settled on the night given fixture congestion, replays have been re-instated for the 2022/23 season if teams finish deadlocked.
In simple terms, if the original match between two sides finishes as a draw, it will then be replayed at the opposition's ground.
In a statement from the FA before the season, they explained: "Replays will be mandatory in all rounds of the qualifying competition and the competition proper from the first round proper up to and including the fourth round proper."
Replays have slowly been phased out of the FA Cup. They were previously scrapped for the FA Cup fifth round in 2018/19, for the quarter-finals in 2016/17, for semifinals in 1999/2000 and for the final in 1998/99.
If the second match between the two sides also ends in a draw, the teams will then go to extra time and penalties. There will not be a second replay.
Here are the replays that have taken place thus far in the 2022/23 FA Cup (teams in bold advanced):
First Round Replays
- Hartlepool United 1-1 Solihull Moors (4-3 on pens)
- Gillingham 1-0 AFC Fylde
- Salford City 0-3 Peterborough United
- AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Weymouth
- Chelmsford City 0-1 Barnet
- Cambridge United 0-0 Curzon Ashton (4-2 on pens)
- Derby County 5-0 Torquay United
Second Round Replays
- Stockport County 3-1 Charlton Athletic
- Gillingham 3-2 Dagenham & Redbridge
Third Round Replays
- West Brom 4-0 Chesterfield
- Accrington Stanley 1-0 Boreham Wood (a.e.t.)
- Wigan Athletic 1-2 Luton Town
- Wolves 0-1 Liverpool
- Swansea City 1-2 Briston City (a.e.t.)
- Leeds United 5-2 Cardiff City
Fourth Round Replays
- Birmingham vs. Blackburn Rovers
- Grimsby Town vs Luton Town
- Fleetwood Town vs Sheffield Wednesday
- Burnley vs Ipswich Town
- Sheffield United vs Wrexham
- Sunderland vs Fulham
What are the FA Cup extra time rules?
If both sides are still level after two matches — the original fixture and the replay — FA Cup rules state that extra time will then follow.
In the case of the FA Cup, extra time will last 30 minutes, and if the score is still level at the end of that period, games will go to a penalty shootout.
During the shootout, both teams will see who can score the most goals from the initial five penalties, and if they are still level after that, they enter additional sudden-death rounds where the first team to move ahead is deemed the winner.
After three round of the 2022/23 FA Cup, there have been four replays that have gone to extra time, two of which needed penalties to decide a winner.
MORE: Who has won the most FA Cups?
Do FA Cup matches go to penalties?
As mentioned before, penalties are used in the FA Cup when a match that is a one-off fixture (Fifth Round, quarter-finals, semi-finals or final) or has been replayed has been drawn and the two teams are still level after a period of extra time.
In that case, a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner of the matchup. Each team has five original penalties before the penalty shoot-out heads into a sudden death period.
