This is when Sunderland, Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic and will discover FA Cup opponents

But when will Sunderland and their League One rivals find out who they could face? Here, we take a look at everything you need to know:

The first round proper will soon be complete meaning clubs in League One and League Two will enter the competition.

And whilst Sunderland and their rivals will get their FA Cup campaigns underway in November, this season's competition actually began at the start of August.

Qualifying phases have already taken place with 348 teams from levels eight to 10 of the football pyramid beginning it in the extra preliminary round.

After that stage, there are four qualifying rounds and the fourth qualifying round takes place this weekend.

Following this, 32 non-league teams will head into the first-round proper and have the chance to meet Sunderland.

The first round draw for this season’s FA Cup is being shown live on ITV1 on Sunday, October 17.

Coverage begins at 1.05pm and is scheduled for half an hour until 1.35pm.

40 first-round proper matches will take place over the weekend of Saturday, November 6.

No games have been selected for TV coverage at this stage.

However, fixtures are usually played over four days, meaning they are poised to start on Friday, November 5, and run until Monday, November 8.

So keep those dates in your diary free if you’re hoping to catch Sunderland in the world’s oldest cup competition this season.

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