West Ham will have every incentive to progress into the next round of the FA Cup regardless but the knowledge of whom they will meet maybe an extra boost this evening.
Indeed for the first time in my memory they will also find out who they will play in the fifth round if they get through the third AND fourth rounds
It’s not to my taste to have a draw made before all games are settled from the previous round but that’s the way of things these days and from 7pm tonight we will be treated to the fourth AND fifth round confrontations.
No 6 is the ball to look out for as the draws are made back to back live on BBC One, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 19:00 GMT.
It’s an odd way of doing things but we are living in odd times although this surely drains the excitement from a competition which remains right up there – despite everything – as one of the best in the world.
Here are the draw numbers:
1 Plymouth Argyle
2 Southampton or Shrewsbury Town
3 Chorley
4 Tottenham Hotspur
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers
6 Stockport County or West Ham United
7 Bournemouth
8 Manchester United
9 Swansea City
10 Everton
11 Nottingham Forest
12 Arsenal
13 Barnsley
14 Sheffield United
15 Millwall
16 Doncaster Rovers
17 Leicester City
18 Wycombe Wanderers
19 Crawley Town
20 Burnley
21 Bristol City
22 Fulham
23 Liverpool
24 Brentford
25 Manchester City
26 Luton Town
27 Chelsea
28 Sheffield Wednesday
29 Norwich City
30 Blackpool
31 Brighton & Hove Albion
32 Cheltenham Town