Chelsea, Brentford, Fulham and QPR target FA Cup fifth round
Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and QPR are all in FA Cup fourth-round action today.
Chelsea host League One side Plymouth at Stamford Bridge, Brentford visit Everton and Rangers are at Peterborough, while Fulham face a daunting trip to Manchester City.
Chelsea still without James
After a much-needed break, which boss Thomas Tuchel has described as “absolutely necessary” and “helped a lot”, Chelsea now face another busy spell of fixtures.
After today’s cup tie they will fly out to Abu Dhabi ahead of the Club World Cup, before a return to Premier League action and soon the return of the Champions League.
They are still without Reece James, who appears to still be some way from a return to the side.
The England international is not yet ready to train fully and will not be part of the squad which will travel to Abu Dhabi.
James has not played this year because of a nasty hamstring he suffered during the 1-1 draw against Brighton on 29 December.
He recently resumed light training, raising hopes of a potential return to first-team action sooner rather than later.
But Tuchel explained: “He is not in team training yet. He will need some time in team training to get the confidence back. He does not travel with us to the Club World Cup.”
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also out injured, while Thiago Silva and Christian Pulisic have been on international duty and will not feature. But Andreas Christensen and Trevoh Chalobah are available again.
Youngsters Lewis Hall, Harvey Vale, Xavier Simons, and Charlie Webster have trained with the first-team squad this week and could feature against the Pilgrims.
Chelsea will be expected to ease into round five, but Tuchel has warned against complacency.
“They have nothing to lose, so we have to be prepared. We will give them full respect,” he said.
Raya return on the cards
David Raya could return to action for Brentford at Goodison Park.
The goalkeeper has not featured since October due to a knee injury but played over an hour in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Aston Villa earlier this week.
Josh Dasilva, who is yet to play for Thomas Frank’s side this season because of a hip injury, also played and scored in the friendly and is nearing a return to first-team action.
“Both of them played in a friendly against Aston Villa on Tuesday and both of them played around 65 minutes, so that was very positive,” Bees boss Frank said.
“David looked his normal self so now I just need to speak to my staff and our goalkeeping coach about potentially starting him on Saturday. Let’s see.”
Fulham to play with ‘big ambition’
Marco Silva insists he will not sacrifice Fulham’s attacking approach in the battle between the Premier League and Championship leaders.
The Whites are the highest-scoring team in the top four divisions, with 74 league goals, but face a stiff test of their attacking prowess against a Pep Guardiola side that have conceded just 14 times, won 12 of their last 13 league matches, and not lost since October 30.
Silva has not tasted victory against Guardiola in eight previous attempts and expects another tough task, but says he wants this team to embrace the challenge.
“They have been the best for the past few seasons apart from that fantastic season Liverpool had,” Silva said.
“Ever since Pep joined the club they have been dominant, not just in terms of trophies, but the quality they have shown. It is not just winning it is the way they are winning.
“It will be a tough match for us, but the FA Cup always a little bit different, something special and although it will be the toughest match we have this season, at the same time it is the easiest for us to prepare because it is so clear what they want to do and they way they do it.
“But the trouble they often do it perfectly and we will have to be at our top level. But always we will play with big ambition and try to enjoy the moment as well knowing that when we have the ball ourselves we have to match them.”
Silva formed a friendship with Guardiola when he was managing Everton and said he is excited to get the chance to catch up once again with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.
“We have a great relationship and it will be a pleasure to be with him again and to have a chat at the end of the match and it is a relationship we will keep, for sure,” he said.
“About him as a manager, I don’t want to be another one saying that he is one of, if not the best in the world, everything he has done in his career has been referenced.
“But for me it is not just about winning trophies every year, it is the way his sides win trophies.”
Liverpool loanee Neco Williams will make his debut for the Whites at right-back after joining on deadline day, with Kenny Tete sidelined with a groin problem and Dennis Odoi.
The 20-year-old Wales international is highly-regarded at Anfield and was rewarded with a new four-year contract 18 months ago after making his Premier League debut for the club.
His attacking style will augment Silva’s front-foot approach, but the Portuguese said he expects Williams to work on the defensive side of his game.
“Between Denis Odoi and Kenny we had two different things; one is a more offensive and the other a more defensive right-back,” he said.
“Now we have two offensive right-backs, Neco can add different things to our offensive process as well, but first thing is that he is a right-back and the main job for him to do is to defend.”
Chair back with QPR
Ilias Chair is back with Rangers after his involvement with Morocco at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mark Warburton says Chair could make a “cameo” appearance at Peterborough.
New signing Jeff Hendrick is expected to make his R’s debut and another recent arrival, Dion Sanderson, is in line for a starting place.
Speaking ahead of the game, Warburton gave another indication that Seny Dieng might have to wait for a return to the QPR side when he comes back from Afcon.
Veteran keeper David Marshall has impressed in his four appearances since being brought in as cover while Dieng is on international duty with Senegal.
Warburton recently suggested that Marshall’s impact could mean Dieng may have to be patient when he returns to London.
And, speaking on the eve of the FA Cup tie, the Rangers manager again had words of encouragement for Marshall.
He said: “People are saying ‘Seny comes straight back in, is it David who plays?’
“Well, right now David’s doing everything right to keep the jersey. It’s that type of competition we need to have.”
