Chelsea are in a tricky spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side have collected only 2 points out of a possible 12 in their last 4 matches, a very disappointing and discouraging return considering they played Everton, Fulham, Ipswich Town, and Crystal Palace, who were supposed to be, with all due respect, clear underdogs against the in-form Blues.
Yet on Saturday at 3 pm GMT, they have the most straightforward of chances possible to get back to winning ways, hosting League Two side Morecambe in the FA Cup third round. Like the rest of the fellow Premier League sides, Chelsea enter the competition in this phase.
The Shrimps on the other hand were rewarded with the pleasure of beating Worthing and Bradford City in the previous couple of rounds. Quite a contrasting picture to their league form, currently languishing in the penultimate place in League Two.
Pre-match Facts to Consider
As you may expect, Chelsea have generally found the FA Cup 3rd round a very light breeze.
Bar the heavy 4-0 defeat against Manchester City away two years ago, the 8-time winners have not crashed out this early since the 1997-98 season, beaten by Manchester United. In percentage terms, they boast an 80% win rate in this stage of the competition, the highest of all regular participants in round 3.
In addition, the stats become even more impressive as we dig deeper. The Blues have won the last 35 out of their 36 encounters in the FA Cup against lower-division opponents.
The only exception represents one of the most shocking cup upsets ever, as minnows Bradford City produced a highly unlikely comeback, coming from behind to win 2-4 at Stamford Bridge against soon-to-become Capital One Cup and Premier League champions Chelsea, back in 2014-15.
Head-to-Head Record
Chelsea and Morecambe have faced each other only once before, and not so long ago.
Almost a fortnight before Frank Lampard’s dismissal, the West London side comfortably beat The Shrimps 4-0, with Mason Mount and Timo Werner finding the net before the break, and Callum Hudson-Odoi, along with Kai Havertz, following suit after the restart.
Team News
Maresca is expected not to have at his disposal more or less the same names who have been absent for the last few games as well.
Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashille will be unavailable for some weeks at least. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Romeo Lavia are doubts due to knock and muscle injury, respectively. Mykhailo Mudryk misses out as a consequence of suspension. Carney Chukwuemeka is unavailable as Chelsea are set to sell the attacking midfielder.
For Morecambe, Liverpool-born attacker Ben Tollitt and left-back Adam Lewis have been their top scorer (8 goals) and top assister (5 assists), so far this season and another player to watch is Rhys Williams, the English defender on loan from Liverpool.
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Predicted Chelsea Lineup
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; James, Disasi, Achaempong, Chilwell; Veiga, Chukwuemeka; Madueke, Nkunku, Felix; Guiu.
The Referee
This game will be judged by Andrew Kitchen, an EFL official since the 2021-22 campaign. It is the first time he is part of a Chelsea game.
Aside from primarily officiating in the Championship, Kitchen has also been named as the fourth official to several top-flight matches this season.
Match Prediction
Although Chelsea are expected to field a mix of their second and third-string teams, they should still have way too much for the modest rivals they face this weekend.
Forecasting a one-sided encounter is also strengthened by the fact Morecambe have only scored 22 goals so far in the league and have lost their last 6 matches without managing to find the back of the net in any of them.
The defensive talent and the attacking creativity The Blues have in their ranks should be more than enough to demonstrate their vast relative superiority.
My prediction: Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe