Attendances have increased to a five-year high in this season's FA Cup third round but the fourth round is set to be the second-lowest supported during the same period.
Press Association Sport has looked at the average attendances over the two rounds of the competition since the 2014-15 campaign, and there were contrasting results for the current campaign.
The 2018-19 season tops the list for third-round crowds during the five-year period with an average of 18,972, eclipsing the previous best total of 18,404 in 2016.
This season's third round benefited from Premier League champions Manchester City, Manchester United and West Ham having home ties against Championship opposition – with all three teams ranking amongst the top four for highest average crowds in England's top flight.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer maintained his perfect start as interim United boss with a 2-0 win over Reading in front of 73,918 fans at Old Trafford, while 54,860 supporters went to West Ham's London Stadium to watch the Hammers defeat Birmingham by the same scoreline.
City dismantled Rotherham with a 7-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium in a well-supported Sunday fixture as 52,708 fans watched the 2011 winners run riot.
👏🏻 The attendance tonight is 12,553 with 1621 away fans. Thank you for your unbelievable support tonight!#TRFC #SWA pic.twitter.com/4ohJmNPK3z — Tranmere Rovers (@TranmereRovers) January 4, 2019
Nine of the original 32 third-round ties had over 20,000 fans in attendance, which included: Norwich, Newcastle, Everton, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Wolves, while Tottenham's trip to League Two Tranmere attracted a bumper crowd of 12,553 to Prenton Park.
It is the third successive season where crowds have increased in the third round, with 2017 averaging 18,097 fans and a total of 18,112 last year. An average of just 15,562 fans attended matches at this stage in 2015.
This season's fourth round will see an upturn in attendance compared to this time last year – however it will drop below 2016's average total of 22,010 when Barnet host Brentford on Monday evening.
⚽️ MATCHDAY🆚 @BrentfordFC 🏆 @EmiratesFACup 🏟️ @TheHiveLondon ⌚️ 7:45pm🎟 Sold Out#BarnetFC 🐝 pic.twitter.com/1gFGVrLw4s — Barnet FC 🐝 (@BarnetFC) January 28, 2019
The 2019 average currently stands at 22,167 after 15 matches over the weekend, and although Barnet will break their record attendance of 5,539 at the Hive with over 6,000 tickets sold, it is not enough to stop this year's total dropping to a mark of around 21,157.
Attendances in 2015 peaked at 24,413, with 2017 sitting in second at 23,590, while last year saw an average of just 19,307 fans at fourth-round matches.
Only five of the 16 clashes over the weekend – including Barnet's match – surpassed the 20,000 attendance mark.
4️⃣th round ⚽️ 32 Clubs👔 16 Ties📆 2 Days til KO 🤔 Who will you be watching? pic.twitter.com/C8S1yIRKj2 — The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2019
Friday's match between the competition's two most successful sides saw the biggest attendance of the round as United came away 3-1 winners against Arsenal with 59,571 fans at the Emirates Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's City won 5-0 against Premier League rivals Burnley in front of 50,121, while 37,433 were at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea's 3-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.
Watford celebrated a 2-0 triumph at Newcastle with 34,604 in attendance and Brighton finished the list with 20,001 fans watching their 1-1 draw with Championship side West Brom.
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