FA Cup quarterfinals: Chelsea vs Port Vale preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 3.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Chelsea to win

There are 61 places separating these two teams in the English football pyramid, with Chelsea sitting sixth in the Premier League and the Valiants placed rock bottom of League One.

Nevertheless, it is Liam Rosenior who will be under pressure after enduring a bruising last few weeks, crashing out of the Champions League in horrendous style and faltering in the race to finish in the Premier League top five.

Since securing a 4-2 extra-time victory over Championship club Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round, Chelsea have suffered defeat in each of their last four matches across the Premier League and Champions League, scoring just two goals and conceding 12 in the process.

This Easter fixture against League One’s basement boys Port Vale therefore gives Chelsea a huge opportunity to stop the rot and return to winning ways, with the added bonus of reaching a major semi-final.

Vale themselves are practically down already from the third tier, 14 points adrift of safety with eight games left to play.

The Valiants are currently led by experienced head Jon Brady, but they don’t come into this clash with any kind of consistent league form. However, their FA Cup run has been a revelation. 

They have celebrated five consecutive wins from the first round to the fifth round, most recently pulling off a shock 1-0 giant-killing against Sunderland last month.

Port Vale are gearing up for their first meeting with Chelsea for almost a century since claiming a slender 1-0 win in the old Division Two back in 1929. Replicating that result on Saturday would be truly historic, securing their first FA Cup semi-final spot since 1954.

It will also making them the first third-tier team since Wigan in 2017-18 to knock out two top-flight clubs in a single season.

Chelsea are bidding to reach their seventh FA Cup semi-final in the last decade and should be confident of securing a spot at Wembley later this month, as they have prevailed in each of their last six quarter-final ties in the competition since losing 2-0 to Everton in 2016.

The Blues also have an exceptional record against lower-league opposition, winning each of their last 37 cup ties – including 25 in the FA Cup – since they suffered a surprise 4-2 fourth-round defeat at home to Bradford City in 2015.

Port Vale head into their first FA Cup quarter-final in 72 years as the lowest-ranked team remaining in this season’s competition, carrying the hopes of 6,000 travelling supporters who will be packed into the Shed End at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea FA Cup form: 🟩🟩🟩

Chelsea form (all competitions): 🟩🟩🟥🟥🟥🟥

Port Vale FA Cup form: 🟩🟩🟩

Port Vale form (all competitions): 🟥🟧🟥🟩🟥🟥

Chelsea will be without Reece James, Jamie Gittens (both thigh), Levi Colwill (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (ankle), Filip Jorgensen (groin) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping suspended). However, Benoit Badiashile should be fit to return after missing the defeat at Everton through illness.

Rosenior is likely to rotate his side in several positions, with Liam Delap and Marc Guiu both hoping to force their way into the first XI at the expense of star striker Joao Pedro.

Should neither Cole Palmer nor Enzo Fernandez be included in the starting lineup, Estevao Willian could be deployed in the number 10 role, while Romeo Lavia, Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo will all compete for starts in deeper midfield positions.

As for Port Vale, they are set to be without Ben Heneghan, George Byres and Jayden Stockley due to injury, while Ryan Croasdale will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Winger Onel Hernandez, who played 26 times for Norwich in the 2019-20 Premier League season, is pushing to start his first game for the Valiants since joining in February after making five substitute appearances.

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto; Acheampong, Badiashile, Cucurella; Lavia, Essugo; Neto, Estevao, Garnacho; Delap

Port Vale: Gauci; Lawrence-Gabriel, C. Hall, Humphreys, John, Gordon; Ojo, Walters; Waine, Brown, Archer

Despite their dreadful run of form at the end of March, Chelsea will be regarded as firm favourites to come out on top against their third-tier counterparts Port Vale, who arrive in the capital with nothing to lose and everything to gain in their quest to pull off a massive upset.

Even if Rosenior decides against selecting some of his star names from the start, the Blues’ superior squad depth and Premier League quality should be enough to book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Correct score prediction: Chelsea 4-1 Port Vale