Wrexham vs. Chelsea: Head-to-head record and past meetings ahead of FA Cup fifth-round meeting

Championship promotion hopefuls Wrexham and eight-time winners Chelsea meet in a historic FA Cup fifth-round tie on Saturday, marking their first competitive encounter in 44 years.

The Red Dragons have already tasted giant-killing success this term by eliminating Nottingham Forest, while Liam Rosenior's Blues travel to North Wales looking to maintain a formidable 24-game winning streak against lower-league opposition in this competition.

While the visitors enter the contest on the back of a morale-boosting 4-1 win over Aston Villa, Phil Parkinson's side have turned the Racecourse Ground into a fortress with three successive home victories to keep their dreams of a first quarter-final appearance since 1997 alive.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between Wrexham and Chelsea.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 9

Wrexham wins: 2

Draws: 3

Chelsea wins: 4

Wrexham and Chelsea have faced each other a total of nine times across all competitions, with the Blues marginally leading the overall head-to-head record as they have won four games compared to the Red Dragons' two, while three draws have been played out between the two clubs.

The first ever meeting between the sides took place in August 1979 in the old Division Two, where Chelsea secured a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.

However, Wrexham proved to be a difficult opponent in that era, exacting revenge in the reverse fixture with a 2-0 win at the Racecourse Ground just four months later.

The most competitive period in this fixture's history came in 1982, when the teams were forced into two FA Cup fifth-round replays after initial stalemates of 0-0 and 1-1. It was the Londoners who eventually progressed to the next round with a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the second replay.

Despite the gap in league stature in modern times, Wrexham will take confidence from the fact that they won the most recent competitive encounter between the two, a 1-0 success in February 1982.

Saturday's FA Cup clash marks the first time in 44 years that these two sides have met in a professional capacity, and while Chelsea have historically held the upper hand in cup competitions, the Welsh side have a proven track record of making life difficult for the Blues on home soil.

Across their nine previous meetings, Wrexham have failed to score in only three matches, while Chelsea have managed just one clean sheet in their four visits to North Wales.