Starting on January 8, 2022, at 17:30 UTC, Chelsea will face Chesterfield at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, England. The match is part of the FA Cup competition. When non-league Chesterfield visits Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, Chelsea will want to avoid becoming the victims of one of the FA Cup’s greatest giant killers. The Blues have finished second in the last two tournaments, while the National League visitors have not advanced past the third round since 2015.
In the 2020-21 FA Cup, it was deja vu for Chelsea, as a Youri Tielemans wonder strike clinched the tie in Leicester City’s favour in front of the returning audience, one year after their defeat to Arsenal behind closed doors at Wembley. The Blues do not require any further motivation to go one better this time and follow in the footsteps of the women’s team, who won the FA Cup in December, and they have already qualified for one domestic cup final.
Indeed, Chelsea earned a merited 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, with Antonio Conte’s return to Stamford Bridge proving to be a wretched event, thanks to Kai Havertz’s early opening and Ben Davies’s farcical own goal. Thomas Tuchel’s side may be out of contention for the Premier League title, but they are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions and ended a worrying run of home draws by convincingly defeating their London rivals in midweek.
Tuchel will surely give his young players chances on Saturday, but Chelsea has not exited the FA Cup in the third round since the 1997-98 season, and the German coach will be keen to avoid a repeat performance. Chesterfield is also in fine form heading into Saturday’s match at Stamford Bridge, but the fifth-tier side’s resistance will be put to the ultimate test in the capital, especially if Tuchel opts for an unusually youthful lineup.
To get this far, James Rowe’s side had to beat Curzon Ashton, Southend United, and Salford City, and they won 1-0 over King’s Lynn in the weekend’s National League match thanks to Liam Mandeville’s 51st-minute goal. This Chesterfield club is set to make its long-awaited return to the Football League, as they presently lead the National League standings by two points with games in hand over closest rivals Halifax Town and celebrity-owned Wrexham.
Chelsea vs Chesterfield, live stream
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