Chelsea’s 2023/24 FA Cup marketing campaign begins on Saturday night as they host Championship strugglers Preston North Finish within the third spherical.
The Blues have been as soon as synonymous with success on this competitors and have lifted the FA Cup six occasions since 2000, however they have been crushed in three consecutive finals between 2020 and 2022.
Mauricio Pochettino as soon as performed down the importance of England’s largest home cup throughout his time at Tottenham, however he can ill-afford to do the identical in west London – even when he has already guided the Blues into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
There have undoubtedly been vibrant spots firstly of the Argentine’s tenure, however inconsistency and haphazard ending have plagued the Blues in 2023/24 up to now.
Nonetheless, they will be anticipated to beat a Preston facet which have misplaced 4 of their final 5 within the second tier. The 2-time winners will likely be trying to stun the hosts on Saturday after succumbing to Tottenham within the fourth spherical final season.
Here is 90min’s preview of Saturday’s FA Cup third spherical tie.
Chelsea vs Preston H2H Report (Final 5 Video games)
Present type (all competitions)
|
Nation |
TV channel/dwell stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
BBC Crimson Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Internet |
|
United States |
ESPN+ |
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Canada |
Sportsnet One, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Chelsea’s harm record remains to be intensive and Pochettino is certain to present possibilities to a number of kids on Saturday.
Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Ben Chilwell are definitely out, whereas Enzo Fernandez, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia, Trevoh Chalobah, and Carney Chukwuemeka are all doubts.
Mykhailo Mudryk, Ian Maatsen, Raheem Sterling and Alfie Gilchrist are all in competition. Christopher Nkunku may make his second begin for the membership.
Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Preston (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gilchrist, Disasi, Badiashile, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sterling, Nkunku, Mudryk; Broja.
The guests have been in dire type and their points cannot be blamed on any type of harm disaster. Former Burnley midfielder Robbie Brady is the one health doubt heading into this cup tie.
Predicted Preston lineup vs Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Woodman; Potts, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; McCann; Browne, Whiteman, Frokjaer-Jensen, Millar; Evans.
The woes which have stricken Chelsea this season definitely aren’t conducive to success in cup competitions, however the Blues ought to nonetheless have an excessive amount of for Preston on Saturday.
There will likely be fringe gamers out to impress, whereas Nkunku has proven flashes of his brilliance after lastly recovering from harm. Count on the Frenchman to star on this cup tie amid a reasonably snug house win.
