Morecambe F.C. currently reside 23rd in the 24 team Football League Two division. That is of course the fourth tier of the English FA pyramid. So with Chelsea currently 4th in the Premier League, this FA Cup clash is literally 4th versus 91st. It stands to reason that Blues boss Enzo Maresca will naturally field a very weakened side on Saturday.
FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs
Chelsea F.C. vs Morecambe
Kickoff: Sat. Jan. 11, 3pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Chelsea F.C. Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Fun Fact: Chelsea have won their last 20, and 35 of their last 36 FA Cup ties against lower division sides.
You can expect to see a first team that looks a lot like the starting lineups that we have seen this season in the UEFA Europa Conference League. How does it all shape out this weekend?
Here is our best guess at how Maresca fills out his team sheet.
Chelsea F.C. Starting XI Prediction vs Morecambe
Filip Jorgensen; Josh Acheampong, Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, Marc Cucurella; Cesare Casadei, Samuel Rak-Sakyi; Harvey Vale, Joao Felix, Jadon Sancho; Marc Guiu
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.