Chelsea vs Plymouth Argyle Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Chelsea will aim to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round when they welcome Plymouth Argyle to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The FA Cup fourth round continues on Saturday, with twelve games on show on the day. The action begins in London, with Chelsea playing hosts to Plymouth Argyle at Stamford Bridge in the lunch-time kick-off.

Chelsea entered the FA Cup in the third round, with their campaign starting with a straightforward 5-1 win over Chesterfield FC. But the Blues are going through a sub-par patch of form, winning just four of their last eight games across all competitions. Thomas Tuchel’s men did bounce back to winning ways before the international break, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Plymouth Argyle’s FA Cup campaign began in the first round, and they needed a first round replay to beat Sheffield Wednesday. In the next two stages, the Pilgrims got past Rochdale AFC and Birmingham FC to set up a fourth round date with Chelsea. Steven Schumacher’s men have blown hot and cold since the turn of the year, winning just two and losing two of their five outings.

Chelsea beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 the last time the clubs locked horns with each other. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the FA Cup fourth round encounter.

Team News & Tactics

Chelsea

The international break has given Thomas Tuchel enough time to get some of his players back at his disposal. On Saturday, the Chelsea manager will be bereft of the services of only five first-team players due to fitness issues or other problems.

Edouard Mendy remains unavailable due to his ongoing participation at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Senegalese goalkeeper will be a part of the final against Egypt, meaning he will only return for Chelsea’s Club World Cup campaign next week. Reece James (hamstring), Ben Chilwell (knee) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (knock) are the other absentees against Plymouth Argyle.

In James and Chilwell’s continued absence, Tuchel’s wing-back options continue to be restricted. And the Chelsea boss could use the game against Plymouth Argyle to give some fringe players and youngsters opportunities to impress, even though he chose not to do so in the FA Cup third round tie versus Chesterfield.

With that in mind, Kenedy could get deployed as the left wing-back, with Cesar Azpilicueta likely to start on the right flank. The two wing-backs will flank Saul Niguez and Mateo Kovacic, with the former getting a chance to make an impression.

Up ahead in attack, Harvey Vale will make his first start in the FA Cup for Chelsea, with Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner expected to start alongside him in the final third. Marcus Bettinelli will likely make his second start for Chelsea at the opposite end, while Lewis Hall will hope to continue from where he left off against Chesterfield. Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr will be the other two centre-backs.

Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Bettinelli; Hall, Chalobah, Sarr; Azpilicueta, Saul, Kovacic, Kenedy; Ziyech, Vale; Werner

Plymouth Argyle

Steven Schumacher has a few new names to choose from ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge. Against Chelsea on Saturday, the Plymouth Argyle manager will only have two players unavailable, with Brendan Galloway and George Cooper still recovering from their respective knee injuries.

The two new signings are Steven Sessegnon and Romoney Crichlow, but the latter will not be up for selection against Chelsea as he is cup-tied. There is some more good news, as Danny Mayor should be fit to return after recovering from a back problem, while Panutche Camara will return to contention after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Camara will sit at the base of the midfield unit, looking to keep things tight in the middle of the park, restricting the chance-creation from Chelsea’s playmakers. Camara will receive defensive support from Ryan Broom and Jordan Houghton, with the former also having the license to roam forward at every given opportunity.

Jordon Garrick and Luke Jephcott will form the strike partnership for Chelsea, with the duo likely to feed off scraps on Saturday. At the opposite end of the pitch, Michael Cooper will line up between the sticks for Plymouth Argyle against Chelsea, with the 22-year-old goalkeeper receiving defensive cover from Joe Edwards, Macaulay Gillesphey, Dan Scarr, James Wilson and Conor Grant.

Probable Lineup (5-3-2): Cooper; Edwards, Gillesphey, Scarr, Wilson, Grant; Broom, Camara, Houghton; Garrick, Jephcott

Key Stats

• Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between Chelsea and Plymouth Argyle since February 1989, when the Blues ran out 1-0 winners in a second-tier match thanks to a winning goal from Kerry Dixon. That was the last campaign in which Chelsea did not compete within the English top-flight.
• Plymouth’s last victory over Chelsea was over 42 years ago, knocking the Blues out of the League Cup in September 1979. However, they have been eliminated from their previous three FA Cup clashes with Chelsea.
• Chelsea have won 10 of their last 11 FA Cup matches at Stamford Bridge (L1) by an aggregate score of 30-4. Their only defeat in this spell was versus Manchester United in round five in February 2019.
• Plymouth, who have not reached the FA Cup fifth round since appearing in the quarter-finals in 2006/07, have been eliminated from each of their last 13 ties in the competition against top-flight sides since beating West Bromwich Albion in 1983/84.
• Only Sergio Aguero (16) has scored more FA Cup goals since the 2013/14 campaign than Romelu Lukaku (14), despite not playing in the competition at all in 2019/20 & 2020/21. Indeed, the Belgian has scored in each of his last seven home matches in the competition across spells with Everton, Manchester United and current club Chelsea.

Player to Watch

Saul Niguez

Embed from Getty Images

It is fair to say that Saul Niguez’s loan stint with Chelsea has not gone to plan so far, with the Spanish midfielder blowing hot and cold at an alarming rate. The 27-year-old initially struggled to get used to the pace of the game in England, with the lack of space troubling him to no end.

But in his last couple of outings, Saul has shown some signs of resurgence, with the Spaniard starting to understand the challenges of English football. However, with time running out before the end of his loan spell, Saul needs to make every opportunity count to earn a permanent transfer to Chelsea, starting with the game against Plymouth Argyle.

Prediction

Chelsea 3-0 Plymouth Argyle

Chelsea made quick work of the game against Chesterfield, although that was partly because of the strong team that Thomas Tuchel named. That might not be the case versus Plymouth Argyle, with the Chelsea boss likely to give a few fringe players and youngsters some much-needed starts.

That said, Chelsea will still have more than enough quality to ease past the Pilgrims and into the FA Cup fifth round. Lewis Hall should make an impression at the back once again, while the attackers will look to get some form under their belts ahead of the Club World Cup. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for Thomas Tuchel’s men.