Wrexham vs. Chelsea: Blues bidding to extend 11-year, 24-game streak in FA Cup tie

Chelsea will be bidding to extend an 11-year and 24-game streak when they face Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round.

The Blues head into Saturday's encounter at the Racecourse Ground on a high after thrashing Aston Villa earlier this week.

At a time when Chelsea sit in fifth position in the Premier League table, they also have one eye on a trip to France to play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, despite acknowledging that changes will be made for the visit to Wales, Liam Rosenior has talked up wanting to win this season's FA Cup.

While they face a fierce test in the form of the sixth-placed team in the Championship, history is on Chelsea's side.

© Imago / Mark Pain

What streak can Chelsea extend against Wrexham?

Chelsea are no strangers to playing second-tier opposition in this year's competition, having already defeated Charlton Athletic and Hull City.

Should the world champions prevail against Wrexham, it will represent the 25th successive time that they have progressed versus teams from a lower league.

The last occasion when they slipped up was a 4-2 home defeat to Bradford City in the fourth round in January 2015.

Only Arsenal and Manchester United, with runs of 28 and 30 wins, have longer such records in the history of the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, Pedro Neto will be looking to become the first Chelsea player since Spanish playmaker Pedro in 2016-17 to score in the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

© Imago / IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Wrexham bidding to end 29-year streak

As for Wrexham, they have reached the fifth round of the competition for the first time since making it through to the quarter-finals in 1996-97.

Phil Parkinson's team have already recorded home victories against Nottingham Forest, via a penalty shootout, and Ipswich Town to earn a spot in the last 16.

Josh Windass heads into this game having scored five goals in his last five starts in the competition. Those particular appearances stretch back to the 2022-23 campaign.