On Premier League matchday 20, Chelsea secured victory over newly promoted Luton Town with a Cole Palmer brace, finishing 2023 in the 10th position on the points table. Despite having the highest spending on transfers, results have proven unfavorable, working against them in the past few seasons.
The most prestigious domestic club competition in English soccer is set to welcome Premier League clubs this weekend in the third round of fixtures. The Blues will play their first fixture in the new year in the prestigious FA Cup against EFL Championship side Preston North End amid injury problems.
Chelsea vs Preston FA Cup clash details
In the FA Cup 2024 campaign, Chelsea will host the second-division side Preston North End at their home ground, Stamford Bridge, on Saturday, January 6, 2024. The fixture is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 pm ET, and all matches will be live telecasted on ESPN+ channel.
Turning to the head-to-head record, the Mauricio Pochettino side maintains a clean sweep with a 100%-win record against this opposition. The London club has clinched the competition eight times, with the most recent triumph in 2018 when they defeated Manchester United in the final at Wembley Stadium.
Last season, Chelsea suffered an early exit from the competition after eventual champions Manchester City thrashed them with a 4-0 scoreline in the third round. Manchester City finished their season with a historic treble-winning campaign, while the Blues secured the 12th position in the league table.
Similarly, their current season is underway in a similar fashion, standing at the 10th place with 28 points at the halfway point of the season, with 8 wins, as many defeats, and 4 draws. Fortunately, some positivity did arrive as Mykhailo Mudryk’s heroics dragged them to the EFL Cup semi-final.
Chelsea receive double injury boost amid struggle
Chelsea has been suffering from severe injury crises since the beginning of the season, with currently more than seven of their first-team stars sidelined due to injuries. Recently, club captain Reece James also sustained a hamstring injury and underwent successful surgery in December.
The injured list includes Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, Trevoh Chalobah, and Benoit Badiashile. Additionally, Nicholas Jackson will be featured in the AFCON, making him unavailable as well.
Amid the long string of injuries and 10 absentees from the main team, it is speculated that Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka could feature in the clash as they were pictured at the training session ahead of the Third-Round fixture. However, it remains to be seen whether they will play or not.
