Chelsea return to action this Saturday when they welcome Football League Two side Morecambe at Stamford Bridge in the F.A. Cup third round.

Chelsea’s Premier League title charge lost momentum due to poor form recently as they were winless in each of their previous four outings. Since beating Shamrock Rovers with a 5-1 scoreline in the Conference League, The Blues are out-of-sorts and are struggling to replicate the dominating gameplay they have shown earlier in the season.

Chelsea looked the potential winners in their clash versus Crystal Palace last weekend when Cole Palmer gave the visitors an early lead and The Eagles found it difficult to equalise for a long while. However, Chelsea defenders let in Eberechi Eze in the 82nd minute and the forward was unselfish enough to pass the ball to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who netted home to share the points.

Despite their recent dip in form, Enzo Maresca’s side are the clear favourites approaching this contest.

Meanwhile, Morecambe are two points off rock-bottom Carlisle in the Football League Two. The Shrimps have failed to make an impression this season in their league and have managed to register only 20 points from 24 games.

Morecambe’s games against Newport County and Doncaster were postponed due to the F.A. Cup proceedings and they have got enough time to gear themselves up for the clash. However, the players will feel otherwise since they have now been handed a thick run of fixtures, which they are not in a position to handle.

Manager Derek Adams lifted off a bit of pressure following Morecambe’s 2-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers as goals from Yann Songo’o and Jamie Stott helped them get the three points.

Results from their last five matches across all competitions

Chelsea:

D L L D W

Morecambe:

W L W L L

Chelsea/Morecambe Team News

Chelsea are set to have Romeo Lavia back in the squad after his hamstring injury.

Wesley Fofana is set to miss the rest of the season while Benoit Badiashile should take a couple of weeks to be fully fit.

Maresca is set to rotate his side heavily as youngsters like Josh Acheampong, Marc Guiu and Tyrique George might start.

Morecambe will have Liverpool loanee Rhys Williams for the match as he has extended his stay at the club.

Adam Lewis should start the match.

Predicted Chelsea/Morecambe Teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; James, Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Chilwell; Veiga, Chukwuemeka; Madueke, Nkunku, Felix; Guiu.

Morecambe (4-2-3-1): Burgoyne; Hendrie, Williams, Stott, Lewis; Jones, White; Tollitt, Songo’o, Edwards; Slew