When Chelsea welcomes Plymouth Argyle to Stamford Bridge for their fourth-round FA Cup fixture on Saturday afternoon, they will be looking for an easy path to the fifth round. In their first match of the season, Thomas Tuchel’s side taught Chesterfield a lesson in football, while the visitors defeated Birmingham City in the third round.
Hakim Ziyech’s Chelsea career has been hit-or-miss so far, but the former Ajax midfielder – who was overlooked by Morocco for an Africa Cup of Nations call-up – showed his finest talents at Stamford Bridge to help his club defeat London rivals Tottenham Hotspur once more. Hugo Lloris was frozen to the spot as Ziyech’s magnificent left-footed opener left the Spurs keeper with nothing to do except watch the ball soar into the top corner, and his shot was followed by a header from the veteran Thiago Silva as Chelsea kept their championship aspirations alive.
Although it will be difficult for the third-placed Blues to truly challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title given that the reigning champions are 10 points ahead with a game in hand, Tuchel’s side will be motivated to go one better in the FA Cup this season. Chelsea surprised some with the strength of their lineup when they welcomed non-league Chesterfield to Stamford Bridge in the third round, but it paid off as the European champions ran out comfortable 5-1 winners on the day, and the Blues have not exited in the fourth round since the 2014-15 season – Bradford City will still ring an unwelcome bell for some fans.
Chelsea’s sole win in their previous three matches is a 2-0 success against Spurs before the international break, but they are on a 14-game undefeated streak at Stamford Bridge and are not in the mood to become victims of a renowned giant slaying. For this inconstant Plymouth Argyle team, the Fresh Year has not brought a new feeling of defensive security, and they were on the verge of completing January with zero League One victories until a trip to bottom-of-the-table Doncaster Rovers.
Branden Horton’s opening put an end to Steven Schumacher’s men’s chances of maintaining a clean sheet after 10 minutes, but Luke Jephcott, Joe Edwards, and Jordon Garrick rallied for the Home Park side to keep them in the playoff hunt. Only three points separate Argyle from the top six slots, with Schumacher’s side having a game in hand on every team in the playoff spots, and they are no strangers to beating teams from higher levels in the FA Cup, having defeated Championship side Birmingham 1-0 in the previous round.
Argyle hasn’t advanced past the fourth round of the FA Cup since 2006-07, and with 10 goals surrendered in their last four games, Schumacher will be concerned of Chelsea’s strong attackers having a field day here. The match on Saturday will be the first between Chelsea and Argyle since the Blues won 1-0 in the second division in 1988-89, and the League One side has only won two games out of 17 encounters with the European champions in all competitions – a dismal record that is unlikely to change in the capital.
Tuchel will be optimistic in welcome Andreas Christensen back from COVID-19 infection, even though Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is preparing for the AFCON final with Senegal. Ben Chilwell’s ACL injury will keep him out for the foreseeable future, while Reece James and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have also been ruled out, but Trevoh Chalobah was healthy enough to start against Tottenham.
Marcus Bettinelli, Timo Werner, and Saul Niguez, as well as up-and-coming youngsters Lewis Hall and Harvey Vale, will all expect to be given opportunities to shine here. Meanwhile, Argyle were busy in the January transfer window, bringing in Steven Sessegnon and Romoney Crichlow, the latter of whom is cup-tied and hence unable to play here.
Brendan Galloway and George Cooper are still out with long-term knee injuries, but Danny Mayor was fit enough to come off the bench last time out against Doncaster. Panutche Camara, an AFCON participant who played in all three of Guinea-group Bissau’s games, might be fit enough to return to the starting XI today, perhaps jeopardising Adam Randell’s position.
Chelsea will return to action on Saturday when they welcome Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup fourth round at Stamford Bridge. After 47 points from 28 games, the visitors are presently sixth in the EFL League One table. Chelsea returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at home last time out. Prior to that, Thomas Tuchel’s team had suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on January 15 before drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion three days later.
Chelsea, who are now third in the Premier League table, will now focus on the FA Cup, where they won their first game 5-1 against Chesterfield on January 8. Meanwhile, Plymouth Argyle have had a good cup run so far, winning three and drawing one of their four games. They come into Saturday’s game off the back of a convincing 3-1 win against Doncaster Rovers the previous Saturday. Luke Jephcott scored in the 10th minute to cancel out Branden Horton’s opener, and Joe Edwards and Jordan Garrick added goals to complete the comeback.
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