Stamford Bridge will be the stage for an exciting FA Cup third round fixture between Chelsea and Preston North End on Saturday.
The two sides last met each other in the domestic cup competition in January 2010 when the Blues ran out 2-0 winners.
Match Preview
Chelsea have responded impressively since slumping to a disappointing 2-1 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers last month.
They comfortably defeated Crystal Palace before sealing a 3-2 success over Luton Town last weekend.
Cole Palmer stole all the headlines in the Kenilworth Road encounter as the former Manchester City player contributed to all three goals for the away side.
The 21-year-old provided an early breakthrough by drilling a brilliant effort into the far corner.
The England international then turned provider as he worked the ball from left to right before feeding it to Noni Madueke who found the target despite the narrow angle.
Chelsea were in total control of the Premier League clash when Palmer added his second on 70 minutes.
However, Luton sparked hopes of a comeback when Ross Barkley headed home from Alfie Doughty’s corner.
Elijah Adebayo scored another to set up a nervous final few minutes but the Blues held out for a thrilling victory in the end.
On the other hand, Preston North End suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss to Sunderland in their most recent game following a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
The Black Cats found themselves ahead within the first 10 minutes after Alex Pritchard scored with a superb swerving strike
Nazariy Rusyn added another before the break, and that proved enough for the hosts to seal maximum points.
The latest defeat has seen the Lilywhites drop down to 14th in the Championship standings with 35 points from 26 matches.
Team News
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has been dealing with a lot of injury woes this season. The Argentine will be without many key players this week, including Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson who are all in the infirmary.
As for Preston, their only injury concern is with Robbie Brady whose availability is doubtful after he missed the last three matches due to an unspecified issue.
Chelsea vs Preston North End potential line-ups
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Gilchrist, Silva, Colwill; Fernandez, Gallagher; Madueke, Nkunku, Sterling; Broja
Preston North End: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Ledson, McCann, Browne, Millar; Evans, Keane
How to Watch?
Fans of football can watch the Chelsea vs Preston North End game via the FA Cup live streams.
Chelsea vs Preston North End prediction
Chelsea entered 2024 confidently after they ended the previous year with four wins from five matches across all competitions. The eight-time FA Cup winners will have home advantage on Saturday and they are expected to seal a comfortable victory against Preston, who have recently been enduring a poor run of form.
Chelsea 3-1 Preston North End