It’s a new year and in English football, that means one thing: it’s time for the third round of the FA Cup to get underway. The oldest club competition in the world is ready to welcome the big boys as we continue on the long road to Wembley. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be an exciting clash between Chelsea and Preston North End.
Chelsea Form GuideMake no mistake about it - Chelsea Football Club are in trouble. Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t been able to steady the ship in the way that many had anticipated, and the Blues are currently lingering in 10th place in the Premier League. The good news for them is that they’re on the verge of a League Cup final appearance, and they’ll be hoping they can translate that success over to the FA Cup, too.
After losing 2-0 to Everton, Chelsea managed to edge past Sheffield United with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge. They proceeded to knock Newcastle out of the League Cup on penalties, only to be beaten by Wolves. Thankfully for them, they bounced back with nervy but important wins over Crystal Palace and Luton.
Preston Form GuideThey may only be a few points away from the top six in the Championship, but Preston North End are still stuck behind a parade of other clubs in the race for promotion. They’ve flirted with the idea of a return to the top flight many times in the past, but they can never seem to get over the finish line. Who knows, maybe a solid FA Cup run will be exactly the inspiration they need.
Preston’s 3-1 win against Huddersfield was quickly followed by losses to Watford and Swansea. They went on to defeat Leeds 2-1, but since that result, they haven’t scored a goal in defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland.
Match PredictionThe smart money is on Chelsea to pick up a relatively comfortable win here, but given how poorly they’ve been playing, we’d argue that Preston should fancy their chances in this one. It’s going to be an entertaining game in our book, but our official prediction is under 2.5 goals scored.
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