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A trip to Stamford Bridge to face eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea is a pretty daunting task for Morecambe, who currently sit seventh in League Two.
However, the Shrimps may take solace in the fact that their Premier League opponents have suffered at the hands of lower-league opposition before. The Blues were shockingly knocked out of the 2014/15 FA Cup by then League One side Bradford City, who stormed to a 4-2 win against José Mourinho’s side at Stamford Bridge.
Unfortunately for Morecambe, this is the only time that Chelsea have been eliminated from the competition by a lower-league opponent since 2008. The Blues have a fairly ruthless record in the FA Cup, having won it six times since the turn of the century, most recently in 2018.
Of course, Frank Lampard’s side head into this season’s competition having finished as runners up last year, falling to a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in the final. Since then, the Blues have had a pretty torrid time, dropping to ninth in the Premier League table after picking up just four points from their last six games.
That’s added significant pressure to Lampard, who won the FA Cup four times as a Chelsea player. Under his management, the Blues splashed over £200 million on the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell.
Fans are now demanding significantly improved results, but the Londoners seem to be regressing rather than challenging for the title as was expected of them after the summer transfer window.
It seems highly unlikely that any of the aforementioned players will be starting for the hosts on Sunday, with Lampard set to make copious changes from the side that lost 3-1 at home to Manchester City last weekend. He confirmed that Reece James, N’Golo Kanté and Andreas Christensen will all miss the match through injury, and that a number of the club’s young players could be set to feature against the Shrimps.
That doesn’t mean that the Chelsea legend underestimates his League Two opponents, as he explained in his pre-match press conference.
“The FA Cup has a magic that’s been there forever, which means underdogs will turn up and cause you problems. If we play well and do our job, I believe we will win but we have to respect Morecambe.”
The Shrimps have finished no higher than 18th in League Two since 2015/16, but are exceeding all expectations under Derek Adams.
They’re currently sat seventh in the table having won four of their last five league matches, a stark contrast to the recent form of their Premier League opponents. They’ve already played two FA Cup matches this campaign to qualify for the third round, seeing off non-league sides Maldon & Tiptree and Solihull Moors.
This is the second time this season that they’ve faced top-flight opposition, suffering a crushing 7-0 defeat at home to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup back in September. Nonetheless, the Lancashire club will be feeling confident given their league performance so far this campaign, with Adams winning December’s League Two Manager of the Month award for his side’s performances.
Most of the bookies have the Shrimps placed as 40/1 underdogs to pick up a shock win in London on Sunday, but the FA Cup is known for surprise results and the Blues have been on the wrong end of their fair share in recent years. Morecambe will have nothing to lose against what will be a rotated Chelsea side, and that shifts all the expectation onto the hosts.
Pressure is starting to build on Lampard, with his side dropping further and further away from the top four. Given Chelsea’s record of chopping and changing managers, Roman Abramovich may look to replace him should they fail to qualify for the Champions League or pick up a trophy. Having already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup is surely their best chance to add any silverware this season.
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