Eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea will be hoping to avoid a second successive third-round elimination when they welcome Preston North End to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
The two teams lock horns for the first time since January 2010 when the Blues claimed a 2-0 win over the Lilywhites at Deepdale in the FA Cup fourth round.
Match preview
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Chelsea enter 2024 in buoyant mood after they concluded the previous year with four wins in their final five matches across all competitions, including a 3-2 victory over Luton Town in the Premier League last weekend.
Cole Palmer starred for the Blues and contributed to all three goals at Kenilworth Road, scoring twice and setting up Noni Madueke for his second goal in as many games, but the West Londoners almost threw away their comfortable lead as Luton valiantly fought back to score twice in the final 10 minutes, ultimately to no avail.
Mauricio Pochettino's side, who remain 10th in the Premier League table, eventually held on for what proved to be a valuable victory as each of the next four teams above them all dropped points, and Chelsea now sit just three points behind Brighton & Hove Albion in seventh.
Back-to-back cup fixtures against Championship opposition are up next for Chelsea, with next Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg away at Middlesbrough to follow Saturday's FA Cup third-round clash with Preston, whom they have beaten in nine of their last 15 meetings in all competitions.
Chelsea were eliminated in the FA Cup third round for the first time in 25 years after they suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to eventual winners Manchester City last season; the last time that they crashed out at the same stage in consecutive seasons was between 1978-79 and 1980-81.
However, the Blues will be confident of success on Saturday as they have advanced from each of their last 18 FA Cup ties against teams from lower divisions since losing 4-2 at home to League Two side Bradford City in 2014-15.
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In stark contrast to Chelsea, Preston endured a disappointing end to 2023 as they lost three of their final four matches of the year, and they kick-started 2024 with another defeat at the hands of Sunderland, losing 2-0 at the Stadium of Light on New Year's Day.
First-half goals from Alex Pritchard and Nazariy Rusyn condemned the Lilywhites to their 11th Championship defeat of the season and they have subsequently slipped to 14th in the table, albeit sitting only five points behind sixth-placed Sunderland who occupy the final playoff spot.
Preston have won just four of their last 19 games in the second tier and the pressure is somewhat mounting on head coach Ryan Lowe, who is keen to quickly "find solutions" in his quest to turn the club's fortunes around.
Lowe has also admitted that his primary focus in on the Championship as opposed to Saturday's glamour tie against Chelsea, a team who Preston have failed to beat in each of their previous three FA Cup meetings.
The Lilywhites have struggled to make inroads in the FA Cup for a number of years as they have lost nine of their last 11 matches in the competition, while they have only progressed to the fourth round on three occasions in the last two decades.
In addition, Preston have lost 17 of their last 18 FA Cup ties against top-flight opposition, only beating Derby County 4-1 in January 2008 during this run, which does not bode well heading to Stamford Bridge this weekend.
Team News
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Chelsea's lengthy injury list includes Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, Romeo Lavia (all thigh), Wesley Fofana, Robert Sanchez, Carney Chukwuemeka (all knee), Marc Cucurella (ankle) and Lesley Ugochukwu (muscle), while Nicolas Jackson is also unavailable as he has joined up with the Senegal squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Enzo Fernandez recovered from a hernia issue to feature as a second-half substitute against Luton, and the midfielder could be handed a start on Saturday if Pochettino opts to rest one of Conor Gallagher or Moises Caicedo.
Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling and Mykhaylo Mudryk will all be pushing to start in attack after beginning as substitutes last time out, while academy graduate Alfie Gilchrist is in contention to make his full debut for the Blues having previously made two fleeting substitute appearances for the first team.
As for Preston, their only injury concern is with winger Robbie Brady, who is doubtful with an unspecified problem that has ruled him out of the last three games.
After deploying a four-man backline last weekend, Lowe may revert to a more familiar back three this weekend, with Liam Lindsay, Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes all in contention to start at centre-back as Brad Potts and Liam Millar operate as wing-backs.
Ryan Ledson could be recalled in midfield at the expense of Mads Frokjaer-Jensen, while top scorer Will Keane, who has six goals to his name this term, will battle with Ched Evans, Milutin Osmajic and Emil Riis Jakobsen – who recently recovered from a long-term knee injury – for a start in attack.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Gusto, Gilchrist, Silva, Colwill; Fernandez, Gallagher; Madueke, Nkunku, Sterling; Broja
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Ledson, McCann, Browne, Millar; Evans, Keane
We say: Chelsea 2-0 Preston North End
Chelsea's recent upturn in form and impressive record against lower-league opposition bodes well ahead of Saturday's clash with an out-of-sorts Preston outfit.
The visitors cannot be completely written off, especially if they are to come up against a much-changed Blues lineup, but Pochettino's side should ultimately have the firepower to secure a relatively routine victory on home soil.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
