Chelsea will be looking to end their poor run of form this afternoon as they welcome Morecambe in the FA Cup third round.
A few weeks ago, the Blues were right in the title race but defeats to Ipswich and Fulham have seen them slip well behind Liverpool.
Enzo Maresca‘s side are winless in their last four after also drawing with Everton and Crystal Palace.
But they will see this match as a chance to get back on track.
Morecambe are second-bottom of League Two and have won five times all season.
In fact, there is a protest planned against the club’s owners at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Morecambe: Gone off the boil
It’s unclear what has really happened to Chelsea, but over the festive period, they lost all form.
The worrying thing for Maresca is that they only picked up two points from teams that were lower than them in the table.
They also only managed to score twice across those four matches, which is nothing like how they were performing earlier in the season.
Maresca’s men have a few injuries and are expected to be without Wesley Fofana for a while, but they still had Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto and Moises Caicedo available in these games.
For whatever reason, they just couldn’t find that spark, but this is a good chance for them to do so.
- This is just the second competitive meeting between Chelsea and Morecambe, with the Blues winning an FA Cup third round tie in January 2021 previously.
- Morecambe have lost all three of their FA Cup matches against Premier League opposition by an aggregate score of 10-1.
Chelsea vs Morecambe: Team news
The Blues will be without Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.
Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended pending an investigation into a failed drugs test, but Romeo Lavia could be fit.
However, Maresca might decide to preserve him.
Elsewhere, expect a lot of rotation, with Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Noni Madueke among those who could feature.
Morecambe’s game at the weekend against Newport was postponed due to a frozen pitch, so they’ve had extra time to prepare for this fixture.
As it stands, Derek Adams has pretty much a full squad to work with.
- Chelsea have progressed from 35 of their last 36 FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, including each of the last 20 in a row since a 4-2 home defeat to Bradford City in January 2015.
- This is Morecambe’s seventh appearance in the FA Cup third round, with four of those coming in the last five seasons. However, they’ve lost all six of their matches at this stage of the competition.
- In the current format of the FA Cup (since 1925-26), Chelsea have the highest progression rate from third round ties among sides to have been at this stage at least 10 times (80% – progressed from 74/93).
Chelsea vs Morecambe: What has been said?
Morecambe manager Adams was delighted when the draw came out of the hat.
He said: “We’re delighted to get a Premier League team, having been to Chelsea before in the third round.
“We’re looking forward to going back and it’s a tie that’s great for the supporters, the players and the staff – and, financially, it’s a bonus for the football club.
“It’s great for the supporters. They have been to Tottenham but they get another experience of going to a Premier League ground.”
Chelsea vs Morecambe: talkSPORT coverage
This FA Cup third-round tie will take place on Saturday, January 11.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for 3pm.
talkSPORT 2 will have live commentary of the clash, with Chris Latchem serving as your host.
Commentary will come from Alex Crook and former Arsenal man Perry Groves.
talkSPORT.com will have all the reaction from west London as well.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.