Good evening and welcome to our next instalment of the FA Cup quarter-finals as Chelsea host Port Vale at Stamford Bridge. It’s the club sixth in the Premier League versus the side rooted to the bottom of the third tier.
As we’ve just returned from an international break, you would assume it was a quiet week for Chelsea? Well, it’s been quite the opposite.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior confirmed that Enzo Fernandez has been given a two-game ban because of his controversial comments regarding his future, meaning he will miss this match and next week’s league meeting with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
Following the demoralising 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, vice-captain Fernandez plunged his Chelsea future into doubt, telling ESPN Argentina he didn’t know if he would stay at the club. In the international break, he fuelled Real Madrid links by saying: “I really like Madrid – it’s similar to Buenos Aires.”
Marc Cucurella was also vocal in the media, criticising Chelsea’s ownership and questioning the club’s project. The 27-year-old disagreed with Enzo Maresca’s sacking in January, feeling it created “instability” and said that only signing young players will “complicate” chances of winning major trophies. Unlike Fernandez, Cucurella escaped any noteworthy punishment and is available for selection this evening.
Alongside this drama and their Champions League exit, Chelsea have also suffered back-to-back Premier League losses without scoring against Newcastle United and Everton.
For Port Vale, things are looking even bleaker from a league standpoint. They’re bottom of League One, 15 points adrift of safety, although they do have two games in hand over 20th-place Wigan Athletic.
Nevertheless, the FA Cup has been a glorious and welcome avenue of escapism for Port Vale, who are plotting a giant-killing. Jon Brady’s side beat Sunderland in the previous round, and with all eyes on Chelsea, Port Vale could rip up the script and pile even more pressure on their top-flight opponents.
Kick-off is at 5:15 BST, with line-ups on the way shortly.