HP Terbaru 2023 – Chelsea out to thwart Wrexham’s FA Cup dream

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By Alex Roberts

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Phil Parkinson’s side are on a terrific run of form. Sitting in sixth, four points above former Premier League side Southampton in the race for the play-offs and unbeaten five across all competitions, all that celebrity investment is paying off.

Chelsea are the undeniable favourites heading into this one, even if form often gets thrown out of the window in the FA Cup. Buoyed by their 4-1 win over Aston Villa in their previous fixture, they’ll want to progress and maybe even lift the trophy.

Phil Parkinson has a history

For Chelsea fans, when asked about their club’s worst ever results, the 4-2 FA Cup defeat to Bradford all the way back in 2014/15 would come up several times over. The man in charge of Bradford that day? Now Wrexham manager Parkinson.

José Mourinho and his relatively star-studded side were 2-0 up in the 38^th minute before Jon Stead scored in the 41^st. Still, Chelsea were comfortable heading into half-time, only to completely collapse in the second.

Whether Parkinson can pull off one of the competition’s big upsets AGAIN, is the big question. The Racecourse is far from a Premier League ground, if the home fans make it hostile, and the grass isn’t as pristine as Chelsea are used to, anything could happen.

A last chance at silverware?

With the Premier League looking like it’s heading to the Emirates, and the Champions League just as unlikely, although Chelsea have been there before, the FA Cup could be their final chance to lift a trophy this season, if you don’t count the Club World Cup.

Of course, a top five finish will be the priority, especially considering the record financial losses Chelsea recently just posted, but for the fans, if they’re in a tournament, no matter what it is, they want to win it.

Chelsea certainly have the players to do it, João Pedro is in top form, you can never rule Cole Palmer out, and Reece James may be the most well rounded defender in the country. Wrexham is a relatively kind draw, a couple more, and they’ll be among the favourites.

Team news

We’re expecting plenty of rotation for Chelsea here. The likes of Liam Delap, Andrey Santos, and Mamadou Sarr, among others should get chances to make an impression heading into the latter stages of the season.

Liam Rosenior has confirmed that Estêvão (hamstring) isn’t quite ready to make a return, with Jamie Gittens (muscle) also close but not close enough. Dário Essugo (muscle), and Levi Colwill (ACL) are both out, while Wesley Fofana (knock) is a doubt.

We may get a glimpse of Roméo Lavia, who hasn’t started a game for Chelsea since October.

As for Wrexham, they’re without Matty James (toe), Liberato Cacace (hamstring), Thomas O’Connor (hamstring) and Ben Sheaf (knee), as well as long-term absentees Aaron James (knee) and Lewis Brunt (thigh).

Prediction

Chelsea have really turned the screw against lower league opposition under Rosenior so far, they comfortably beat Hull, and we think they’ll do the same thing here. 3-1 Chelsea.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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