Overview
- Organisers completed the draw live on TNT Sports before Tamworth vs Leyton Orient, with free streams on discovery+ and TNT Sports’ YouTube channel.
- Standout pairings include Slough Town vs Macclesfield, Wigan Athletic vs Barrow, Blackpool vs Carlisle United, Gateshead vs Walsall, and Chelmsford City vs Weston-super-Mare.
- Salford City will host Tamworth or Leyton Orient, with that first-round tie concluding later on Monday.
- The 40 first-round winners formed 20 second-round fixtures scheduled for December 5–8, with single-match ties after replays were removed from this stage.
- A spate of weekend upsets left a strong non-league contingent, with Carlisle, Gateshead and Boreham Wood among the giant-killers now eyeing further progress.