Overview
Not long ago, Chelsea was still considered a potential candidate for the Premier League title, while Enzo Maresca just received the best coach award in November. But just 4 weeks later, the Italian strategist left Stamford Bridge, in the context of the team's decline with a winning streak of only 1/9 matches in the tournament.
U21 team coach Calum McFarlane managed to help Chelsea win 1 point in the 1-1 draw with Man City last weekend, but the disappointing 1-2 defeat to Fulham when playing with one less player pulled them down to eighth place. The Blues are currently four points behind the top 4 and 18 points behind the leading team Arsenal.
New coach Liam Rosenior - who watched the derby at Craven Cottage from the boardroom area, sitting next to co-owner Behdad Eghbali - was assigned the task of saving the season. The 41-year-old coach described the 6-year contract as one of the proudest moments of his life.
Rosenior left Strasbourg with a win rate of 49.2% after 63 matches. Now, he needs to quickly integrate to stabilize The Blues, in the context that the team aims to win the FA Cup for the ninth time in history and for the first time since 2018.
Traditionally, Chelsea entered the third round with a very solid foundation. They have won 61/63 recent FA Cup matches against opponents from lower leagues, including a 22-match winning streak recently. The Blues also won all two times against Charlton in the FA Cup, both with a score of 3-0, in the 4th round of the 1962-1963 season and the 3rd round of the 1994-1995 season.
Their opponent, Charlton, is clearly declining. Addicks are currently ranked 19th in the Championship after only winning 2/14 of their last matches since the end of October (5 draws, 7 losses). Only bottom-ranked Sheffield Wednesday gained fewer points in the same period. Coach Nathan Jones' team, from the position of competing for a play-off spot, fell into a state of alarm, only 5 points ahead of the relegation group.
Not winning 4 consecutive matches, Charlton lost narrowly to Norwich (0-1) and Portsmouth (1-2), before drawing 1-1 with league leaders Coventry City - led by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard - and sharing points 2-2 with Blackburn last weekend.
Charlton won the FA Cup in 1947 and finished second in 1946, but they entered the match against Chelsea with a not-so-optimistic attitude. They were eliminated in all five recent FA Cup third rounds, and the last time they reached the fourth round was from the 2013-2014 season when they defeated Oxford United in a replay.
Overall head-to-head statistics also lean completely towards Chelsea. Charlton lost 8/11 of his last 11 matches in all competitions against The Blues (1 win, 2 draws). Addicks' last home win against Chelsea was a dramatic 4-2 victory in the Premier League in December 2003 under Alan Curbishley.
Personnel situation
Charlton entered the match with some personnel losses. Kayne Ramsay and Onel Hernandez were both absent due to hamstring injuries, while Josh Edwards and Matty Godden were sidelined due to problems with ankles and knees.
Nathan Jones is likely to continue to be loyal to the three-center-back formation with two wing-backs. James Bree and Tyreece Campbell are expected to take charge of the two corridors, while the three center-backs may include Lloyd Jones, Amari'i Bell and one of the two names Macaulay Gillesphey or Reece Burke.
In midfield, Sonny Carey will compete for a starting spot with Greg Docherty and Conor Coventry. In attack, Miles Leaburn and Charlie Kelman are expected to continue playing as center forwards.
Chelsea also could not avoid notable absences. Marc Cucurella was suspended for one match after a red card in the defeat to Fulham, while Levi Colwill (cut anterior ligament), Romeo Lavia (knee injury), Dario Essugo (knee injury) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspension) have not yet been able to participate.
Rosenior is expected to rotate compared to the squad used by Calum McFarlane in the middle of the week. Filip Jorgensen is expected to start instead of Robert Sanchez, while Jorrel Hato is likely to play left-back in the context of Cucurella's absence.
Expected lineup:
Charlton Athletic: Kaminski, Gillesphey, Jones, Bell, Bree, Docherty, Coventry, Carey, Campbell, Leaburn, Kelman.
Jorgensen, Acheampong, Fofana, Badiashile, Hato, Caicedo, Santos, Gittens, Estevao, Garnacho, Pedro.
The match between Charlton Athletic - Chelsea takes place at 3:00 AM on January 11 (Vietnam time).
