Preview: Chelsea vs Port Vale - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to avoid a fifth straight loss under head coach Liam Rosenior, Chelsea welcome third-tier outfit Port Vale to Stamford Bridge for an FA Cup quarter-final tie on Saturday evening.

There are 61 places separating these two teams in the English football pyramid, with the Blues sitting sixth in the Premier League and the Valiants placed rock bottom of League One.

Match preview

Since securing a 4-2 extra-time victory over Championship club Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round, Chelsea have suffered defeat in each of their last four matches across the Premier League and Champions League, scoring just two goals and conceding 12 in the process.

The wounded West Londoners were hammered 8-2 on aggregate by European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, while they have also been beaten without reply by both Newcastle United (1-0) and Everton (3-0) in the top flight, most recently losing to the latter before the international break to pile more pressure on Rosenior.

While Champions League qualification for next season hangs in the balance, sitting six points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in the Premier League, Chelsea’s only hope of winning silverware this term is in the FA Cup, a competition they last won in 2018 under Antonio Conte.

The Blues are bidding to reach their seventh FA Cup semi-final in the last decade and should be confident of securing a spot at Wembley later this month, as they have prevailed in each of their last six quarter-final ties in the competition since losing 2-0 to Everton in 2016.

Chelsea also have an exceptional record against lower-league opposition, winning each of their last 37 cup ties - including 25 in the FA Cup - since they suffered a surprise 4-2 fourth-round defeat at home to Bradford City in 2015.

Port Vale head into their first FA Cup quarter-final in 72 years as the lowest-ranked team remaining in this season’s competition, carrying the hopes of 6,000 travelling supporters who will be packed into the Shed End at Stamford Bridge.

Despite a dismal League One campaign that sees them sitting 14 points adrift of safety and on the cusp of relegation, the Valiants’ FA Cup run has been a revelation. They have celebrated five consecutive wins from the first round to the fifth round, most recently pulling off a shock 1-0 giant-killing against Sunderland last month.

Under the tutelage of manager Jon Brady, who replaced Darren Moore in December, Port Vale are looking to bounce back from a bruising 4-0 away defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in League One last weekend and recapture their magic cup form.

Port Vale are gearing up for their first meeting with Chelsea for almost a century since claiming a slender 1-0 win in the old Division Two back in 1929. Replicating that result on Saturday would be truly historic, securing their first FA Cup semi-final spot since 1954, while also making them the first third-tier team since Wigan in 2017-18 to knock out two top-flight clubs in a single season.

Chelsea FA Cup form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Port Vale FA Cup form:

Port Vale form (all competitions):

Team News

Chelsea will be without Reece James, Jamie Gittens (both thigh), Levi Colwill (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (ankle), Filip Jorgensen (groin) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping suspended), but Benoit Badiashile should be fit to return after missing the defeat at Everton through illness.

Rosenior is likely to rotate his side in several positions, with Liam Delap and Marc Guiu both hoping to force their way into the first XI at the expense of star striker Joao Pedro.

Should neither Cole Palmer nor Enzo Fernandez be included in the starting lineup, Estevao Willian could begin in the number 10 role, while Romeo Lavia, Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo will all compete for starts in deeper midfield positions.

As for Port Vale, they are set to be without Ben Heneghan, George Byres and Jayden Stockley due to injury, while Ryan Croasdale will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Winger Onel Hernandez, who played 26 times for Norwich in the 2019-20 Premier League season, is pushing to start his first game for the Valiants since joining in February after making five substitute appearances.

Ben Waine scored the winning goal against Sunderland, his third in the FA Cup this season, and the New Zealand international could be joined in the final third by Dajaune Brown and/or Ethon Archer.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Acheampong; Tosin, Badiashile, Hato; Lavia, Essugo; Neto, Estevao, Garnacho; Delap

Port Vale possible starting lineup:

Gauci; Lawrence-Gabriel, C. Hall, Humphreys, John, Gordon; Ojo, Walters; Waine, Brown, Archer

We say: Chelsea 4-1 Port Vale

Despite their dreadful run of form at the end of March, Chelsea will be regarded as firm favourites to come out on top against their third-tier counterparts Port Vale, who arrive in the capital with nothing to lose and everything to gain in their quest to pull off a massive upset.

Even if Rosenior decides against selecting some of his star names from the start, the Blues’ superior squad depth and Premier League quality should be enough to book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.

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