Eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea get their campaign underway this weekend when Morecambe head to Stamford Bridge in a match of David vs Goliath.
Having last won the world's oldest football comeptition in 2018, the Blues will be hoping to end their seven-year wait by getting their hands on the trophy in May, but first need to overcome League Two side Morecambe.
The Shrimps, managed by Derek Adams in his third spell in charge of the club, sit second from bottom in EFL League Two and four points from safety.
To get to this stage of the competition, Morecambe defeated National League South side Worthing 2-0 in round one before narrowly overcoming fellow League Two rivals Bradford City 1-0.
The most recent meeting between the two sides was just four years ago as Chelsea comfortably won 4-0 in a match behind closed doors. Interestingly, none of the Chelsea starting eleven from that game currently play for the club.
Despite sitting in the relegation zone, the Shrimps will be hoping to cause an FA Cup giant killing against a Chelsea side who sit 4th in the Premier League. However, the Blues will be determined to end their poor run of form of late.
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Team News
Chelsea
Enzo Maresca confirmed in his pre-match press conference that both Reece James and Romeo Lavia will return to the matchday squad to take on the Shrimps.
French defensive duo Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile remain sidelined through injury, with the former expected to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines, whilst Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is also out injured.
The match against Morecambe offers the chance for Maresca to rotate his squad, which could see the likes of Marc Guiu and Tyrique George in line to start for the West Londoners.
Morecambe
Manager Derek Adams has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the visit to Stamford Bridge, but will be boosted by the fact Liverpool defender Rhys Williams has extended his loan spell at the club until the end of the season.
The Shrimps will most likely remain unchanged from the New Year's Day victory over Tranmere Rovers. Having both been on the bench in that game, left-back Adam Lewis and forward Jordan Slew, who scored the winner in the previous round, may come back into the starting eleven against Chelsea.
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Likely Line-Ups
Chelsea: Jorgensen; James, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga; Lavia, Rak-Sakyi; Madueke, Felix, George; Guiu
Morecambe: Burgoyne; Hendrie, Williams, Stott, Lewis; White, Jones; Tollitt, Songo'o, Gwion; Slew
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Key Players
Chelsea: Marc Guiu
Since joining in the summer from Barcelona, 19-year-old Marc Guiu had a shaky start at first to life at Stamford Bridge, but is now getting amongst the goals in the matches he has started.
The Spanaird has scored six goals in four UEFA Conference League matches, which included an impressive hat-trick against Shamrock Rovers just before Christmas.
Despite not getting much gametime in the Premier League, Guiu will certainly be in line to start against Morecambe and is hoping to continue his excellent goalscoring form of late.
Morecambe: Ben Tollitt
With the Shrimps in the midst of a relegation battle, winger Ben Tollitt has been one of Morecambe's best performing players so far this season and is hoping to impress against Chelsea.
Tollitt is Morecambe's top scorer in League Two with six goals along with two assists. Despite being on a six-game goal drought, the 30-year-old is still a player the Blues will need to keep a keen eye on.
The winger will most likely being coming up against Renato Veiga and is certainly capable of causing problmes for the Portuguese international. Can he get himself on the scoresheet in West London?
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The match will be played at the 40,341 seater Stamford Bridge, the home of the eight-time FA Cup winners Chelsea.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off for this Third Round tie is at 15:00pm GMT and is one of eight ties taking place at that time on Saturday.
How can I watch?
Due to the 3pm blackout rules, this match will not be broadcasted live in the UK.
However, highlights from the match will be posted on the Chelsea FC YouTube channel shortly after the match, as well as being shown on Match of the Day later in the day at 22:30pm GMT.
