Enter the big guns, cue the magic

The FA Cup third round intertwines the hopes and fates of Chelsea – the Premier League club that’s won it all – and now-Championship side Preston North End, who were the "invincible" victors of the inaugural 1888/89 Football League.

This 5.30pm kick-off is the fourth meeting between the two clubs in the FA Cup and comes 154 days after the commencement of the 143rd edition of the competition on 2 August, 2023.

Preston travel to Stamford Bridge having suffered four defeats in their past five Championship fixtures. They have also not defeated a Premier League side in the FA Cup since knocking out Derby County in 2008.

However, the Lilywhites have a history in this competition. They have twice lifted the famous trophy and have taken their full 6,000 ticket allocation. The visitors will be heard.

Chelsea, eight-time winners of the FA Cup, had made it through the third round in 23 successive seasons before last year's elimination at the hands of Manchester City. Such a fate will not want to be repeated.

Mauricio Pochettino's side are in good form at home. The Blues are unbeaten at Stamford Bridge on all fronts since October and have progressed through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals, where Middlesbrough are the opposition over two legs.

FA Cup wins

Chelsea team news

The FA Cup is a trophy the Blues would love to reclaim, but Pochettino faces tricky selection decisions with the first leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final taking place on Tuesday evening

Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badisahile are ruled out alongside longer-term absentees, while this game comes too soon for Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka, who have returned to team training this week.

For the first time in a few weeks, Pochettino has his preferred midfield trio of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Conor Gallagher fit and available.

Alfie Gilchrist, who has appeared as a substitute in our previous two matches, will be hoping to secure a first start for his boyhood club, while Leo Castledine will aim to be involved in some capacity after his inclusion in recent matchday squads. Michael Golding, 17, has also worked with the seniors this week.

Brazilian striker Deivid Washington could return with Nicolas Jackson now away with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations. Armando Broja could lead the line with Christopher Nkunku still building his fitness after his return from injury.

Mykhailo Mudryk could be handed a start and will be fresh after not featuring against Luton Town. Another in-form player with lower mileage this season, Noni Madueke, would surely love to extend his back-to-back league goals run into another competition.

No Football League club has beaten the Blues in the FA Cup for nine years, but the hosts will have to be on their mettle to maintain that record against the team responsible for the most long balls in the Championship.

An early breakthrough for the hosts would be welcome against a side likely to set up to defend deep and stifle our creativity.

Goal contributions 2023/24 (all competitions)

Opposition scout

Preston boss Ryan Lowe faced Chelsea in the FA Cup during his playing career; the Liverpudlian was introduced as a substitute when a Gianfranco Zola-powered Chelsea defeated Shrewsbury Town 4-0 back in 2003 in round four.

Lowe has been head coach at Deepdale since December 2021, after leaving Plymouth Argyle. His side are currently 14th in the Championship, just below Carabao Cup opponents Middlesbrough, and still harbour hopes of securing a play-off spot.

Preston may set up in a 3-1-4-2 system in which midfield anchor Ben Whiteman is the playmaker. They fight hard, play long and chase the ball, looking to the likes of former USA international Duane Holmes and Canada winger Liam Miller for wide attacking inspiration.

Will Keane is Preston's leading marksman with six goals, while fellow striker Ched Evans, now 35, is back from injury. One boost could be the return of experienced winger Robbie Brady, who has previously faced the Blues 11 times with Hull, Norwich, and Burnley.

As Sunderland highlighted on Monday in a 2-0 victory, the Lancastrians’ defence can be exposed, and regular centre-back Jack Whatmough is also out through injury.

The Lilywhites have conceded the third-most goals in the division (44) and have lost six of their last nine matches.

Only four Championship goalkeepers this season have faced more shots on target than Freddie Woodman, who has the fourth-lowest save percentage in the division.  

Our round three history

Other than defeats to Manchester clubs in 1998 (United) and 2023 (City), Chelsea have progressed from round three every year since 1994.

We have been drawn with Preston three times previously, although never at this stage. The first occasion was in round four in 1968/69.

A draw at Deepdale required a replay at the Bridge where, remarkably, the first attempt was abandoned with 15 minutes remaining because of an electricity failure when the Blues were leading 2-1. Five days later – and with power restored – Chelsea trailed 1-0 and needed a late surge of goals from emergency striker Dave Webb and Charlie Cooke to produce a 2-1 win.  

Fast forward to a fifth-round tie in February 2002 and the Lilywhites again opened the scoring at the Bridge inside 10 minutes, through Richard Cresswell. This time the Londoners’ response was swift. The strike-force of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink put the favourites in front before Mikael Forssell rounded off the victory.

Most recently, Carlo Ancelotti was in charge in January 2020 when the Blues won 2-0 at Deepdale in round four, Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Sturridge netting either side of the break. As in 2002, we went on to reach the final, beating Portsmouth.

FA Cup 2023/24 regulations

Should this game finish level after 90 minutes, there will be a replay at Deepdale. The last time Chelsea required a rematch in this competition was against Norwich in 2018, when we progressed after extra time and a penalty shoot-out at the Bridge.

Five substitutions, plus concussion replacements, are allowed in the world’s oldest football knock-out. The VAR system will be in operation where Premier League clubs are the hosts, such as this one.  

Accumulating two yellow cards results in a one-match suspension in the FA Cup. Only red cards are transferable to other domestic competitions. All cards are wiped after the quarter-finals.

Should Chelsea make it to round four, those matches are set to be played over the weekend of 27/28 January.

The fifth round is in midweek, around 28 February; the quarter-finals on 16/17 March; the semi-finals on 20/21 April; the final is scheduled for Saturday 25 May at Wembley Stadium.

When is the fourth round draw?

Should the Blues advance, they will be in the hat for the fourth round. The draw is scheduled to take place on ITV and across the BBC on Monday 8 January from around 7.50pm.

FA Cup prize money

Round 3 winners (32 teams) £105,000
Round 4 winners (16) £120,000  
Round 5 winners (8) £225,000
Round 6 winners (4) £450,000
Semi-final winners (2) £1,000,000
Semi-final losers (2) £500,000
Runners-up (1) £1,000,000
Winners (1) £2,000,000

Duty calls

The last players competing in the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations will soon join their international squads. Those who reach the latter stages in Qatar or the Ivory Coast, where the prestigious tournaments are staged, could be absent from their clubs until the respective finals on 10 and 11 February.

Chelsea will miss joint-leading marksman Nicolas Jackson, who represents 2021 AFCON champions Senegal. However, each of our upcoming Premier League opponents could have two or more absentees.

Next weekend’s visitors Fulham will be deprived of three members of the squad that beat Arsenal on New Year’s Eve, Liverpool could be without Mohamed Salah - involved in 27 goals this season - while key personnel including top scorer Hwang Hee-Chan and first-choice left wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri may be missing from Wolves’ ranks.