Deepdale plays host to an FA Cup fourth round tie between Preston North End and Chelsea. Preston North End reached this stage by thrashing Colchester United 7-0, whilst Chelsea were victorious over Watford 5-0. Curiously, Carlo Ancelotti has named his side already and without doubt it is one strong enough to beat Preston. Hilario, Ferreira, Alex, Terry and Zhirkov make up the back five, Belletti, Ballack, Lampard and Deco the…
Following Chelsea over the years has brought many highs and lows, but one of the strangest set of memories for me goes back over forty years to the 4th round in January and February of 1969. Over the previous four seasons we’d reached the sixth round, two semi-finals and lost to T*tt*nh*m in the first all-London final. Dave Sexton was manager having taken over from Tommy Docherty fifteen months earlier….
Chelsea sealed their passage to the FA Cup fourth round with an emphatic 5-0 win over Watford at Stamford Bridge. Two goals from Daniel Sturridge, plus goals from Florent Malouda, Frank Lampard and an own goal from John Eustace were more than enough for victory. As predicted, the side was a mix of youth and experience, with Hilario, Belletti, Sturridge and the underutilised Zhirkov included, as well as Matic, Kakuta…
Chelsea host Watford in the FA Cup Third Round this Saturday in the first match of the New Year, and indeed the new decade. Chelsea ended 2009 with a rather shaky December and will be looking to kick start 2010 with a strong January, beginning with this FA Cup tie. Expect the likes of Gael Kakuta, Fabio Borini and Daniel Sturridge to feature heavily as Chelsea are without Didier Drogba,…