The FA Cup third round traditionally takes place in January and that stage of the competition sees the introduction of Premier League and Championship teams.
Barring a huge surprise not seen since non-league Tottenham Hotspur won the cup in 1901, one of those teams will go on to lift the trophy in May.
Aside from being a big club, having a great goalscorer also helps to win it and over the years, some top talents have led their teams to victory in the most prestigious cup competition of them all.
Here, a look at the all-time top scorers in the FA Cup and how those players fared in the competition...
Sergio Agüero (20 goals)
Sergio Agüero left Manchester City in 2021 as the Sky Blues' all-time top scorer with 260 goals in 390 appearances.
And 20 of those goals came in the FA Cup, in just 22 matches. Agüero was a winner with City in 2019, but was surprisingly left on the bench by Pep Guardiola as the Manchester club thrashed Watford 6-0. The former Argentina forward was also a runner-up in 2013, when Roberto Mancini's men lost out by a single goal to Wigan Athletic in a shock defeat at Wembley.
George Best (21 goals)
George Best won two First Division titles and a European Cup as a Manchester United player, but the brilliant Northern Ireland attacker never did get his hands on the FA Cup.
Best scored 21 goals in 46 appearances for United in the competition, including six in an 8-2 win over Northampton Town in February 1970. The winger was played twice in the FA Cup for Fulham, but did not score in either of those games. He won the FA Youth Cup with the Red Devils in 1964.
Jermain Defoe (22 goals)
Jermain Defoe was at Portsmouth when the south-coast club won the FA Cup in 2008, but was cup-tied after playing for Tottenham in the competition earlier in the season.
Defoe started his career at West Ham, had two spells at Spurs and also scored in the FA Cup while on loan at Bournemouth, netting 22 goals in the competition overall for those three clubs.
Wayne Rooney (23 goals)
Wayne Rooney surpassed the great Sir Bobby Charlton to become Manchester United's all-time top scorer in 2017 and finished his Old Trafford career with 253 goals.
Rooney was on target 23 times in the FA Cup, with 22 of those coming in his time at United. Surprisingly, he only won it once, under Louis van Gaal in 2016.
Jackie Milburn (23 goals)
Jackie Milburn won the FA Cup three times with Newcastle United and the legendary former striker is commemorated in a statue outside St. James' Park.
Milburn scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Blackpool in the 1951 final and was on target after 45 seconds as Newcastle beat Manchester City 3-1 in the 1955 showpiece. He scored 23 FA Cup goals in total.
Mark Hughes (24 goals)
Mark Hughes won the FA Cup four times in his playing career – with Manchester United in 1985, 1990 and 1994, and with Chelsea in 1997.
A starter in all four of those finals and the replay in 1990, Hughes scored twice in the 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace in the first match that year and was also on target in the 4-0 win over Chelsea in 1994. In total, he scored 24 FA Cup goals.
John Barnes (27 goals)
One of the most exciting wingers of the 1980s and early 1990s, John Barnes won an array of silverware at Liverpool after starting his career with Watford.
Those prizes included two FA Cups – in 1989 and 1992 – and Barnes, always a threat in front of goal, scored 27 times in 87 appearances in the competition overall.
Alan Shearer (27 goals)
One of the greatest strikers of his generation, Alan Shearer finished his career as the Premier League's highest goalscorer.
Shearer was also prolific in the FA Cup, netting 27 times across 58 appearances in the competition, and losing back-to-back finals with the Magpies in 1998 and 1999.
Frank Lampard (28 goals)
Frank Lampard may not have been a forward, but the midfielder was a prolific performer in front of goal who went on to become Chelsea's all-time top scorer.
The former England international netted 28 times in the FA Cup, with most of those goals coming at Chelsea, where he won the competition four times – in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012 – and hit the winner in the second of those finals.
Malcolm Macdonald (29 goals)
Malcolm Macdonald signed for Luton Town as a full-back but was converted to a centre-forward due to injuries at the Hatters and never looked back.
Macdonald went on to become a successful striker at Newcastle United and Arsenal, also winning 14 England caps between 1972 and 1975. He scored 29 FA Cup goals and was a losing finalist on two occasions – with Newcastle against Liverpool in 1974 and for Arsenal versus Ipswich Town four years later.
Teddy Sheringham (30 goals)
Teddy Sheringham scored FA Cup goals for seven different clubs in a long career which saw him play into his early 40s.
The former England striker hit 30 goals in 56 FA Cup appearances overall for Tottenham, Manchester United, Millwall, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Portsmouth and Colchester. Sheringham was a winner in 1999 as part of United's treble triumph, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 victory over Newcastle at Wembley.
Steve Bloomer (39 goals)
One of the great centre-forwards of his day, Steve Bloomer played in the 1890s and early 1900s and scored 28 goals in just 23 games for England.
Bloomer spent his best years at Derby County and also had a spell at Middlesbrough. Still one of the FA Cup's top scorers to this day, he hit 39 goals in the competition, with most of those coming in his first stint with the Rams. There is a bust to commemorate Bloomer at Derby's Pride Park stadium.
Jimmy Greaves (42 goals)
Jimmy Greaves won the FA Cup twice in his nine years as a Tottenham player – in 1962 and 1967 – and opened the scoring against Burnley in the first of those finals.
In total, the former England striker was on target 42 times in 57 appearances in the FA Cup for Spurs, Chelsea, West Ham and Barnet.
Denis Law (43 goals)
Denis Law scored 43 goals in the FA Cup, which was a modern-day record until he was surpassed by Liverpool's Ian Rush in the 1990s.
Law's 43 goals do not include six scored in a tie for Manchester City against Luton Town in 1961, which was abandoned due to poor weather. The Scottish striker also scored in the replay, but City lost 3-1. More successful at Manchester United, Law won the competition in 1963, netting in a 3-1 win over Leicester City in the final at Wembley.
Ian Rush (44 goals)
Ian Rush set a series of goalscoring records during his time at Liverpool in the 1980s and early 1990s. In the modern era, no player has scored more in the FA Cup.
Rush hit 44 goals in 75 appearances in the FA Cup and won the competition three times with Liverpool – in 1986, 1989 and 1992. He scored five goals in those three finals, which is another record.
Harry Cursham (49 goals)
It is a record which dates back to the FA Cup's early days and it is one which is unlikely to ever be beaten.
An England international footballer who was also an accomplished cricketer, Harry Cursham scored 49 goals in 44 appearances for Notts County in the FA Cup, though he never won the competition.
