Match preview: Chelsea v Wednesday

26 January 2019

It’s FA Cup fourth round weekend and for Wednesday, a trip to holders Chelsea.

Following a goalless draw against Luton in round three at Hillsborough, the Owls triumphed in the replay 1-0 at Kenilworth Road with Atdhe Nuhiu on target.

In all competitions, Wednesday head into the game with just one defeat in eight.

Chelsea continue their defence of the cup on Sunday after overcoming Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the previous round on home soil.

The Blues lifted the famous trophy back in May when they defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley.

Maurizio Sarri’s side are fourth in the Premier League and made it into the final of the Carabao Cup earlier this week with victory over rivals Tottenham on penalties following a 2-2 aggregate scoreline.

Team news

Owls: Fernando Forestieri is likely to be included in the squad after working his way back to fitness from a hamstring injury.

Loanee Michael Hector will miss out against his parent club.

Elsewhere, Josh Onomah (hamstring) is a week away from his return while Matt Penney (shoulder) is expected to be sidelined until April.

Otherwise, there are no fresh injury concerns from the Owls' 1-0 win over Wigan last time out.

Chelsea: Head coach Sarri is likely to rotate his squad after Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi final victory over Spurs.

Sarri will assess the fitness of new signing Gonzalo Higuain and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who is back in training after a back injury.

Higuain, who could make his Chelsea debut against the Owls, joined the Blues on loan from Juventus earlier this week with an option to buy.

The former Real Madrid striker reunites with Sarri, who was head coach at Napoli when Higuaín equalled the all-time Serie A scoring record for a single season, with 36 goals in 2015/16.

Pre-match interview - Sam Hutchinson

Tickets

The Owls’ allocation of 5,917 at Stamford Bridge is a sell-out for the 6.00pm kick-off.

Information for travelling supporters

Heading to Stamford Bridge on Sunday? Then check out the following supporter advice and information by clicking on the image below.

Supporter reminder

Supporters are reminded of their conduct whilst following the Owls at all fixtures.

CLICK HERE for full details.

Follow the game live

We’ll have online live match commentary on iFollow from 5.30pm.

Due to broadcast restrictions, the game will not be streamed on iFollow.

The cup clash will be live on BBC1.

Last five v Chelsea

1999/2000
Owls 1-0 Chelsea | 15 April 2000 | Premier League (pictured)
Chelsea 3-0 Owls | 29 December 1999 | Premier League

1998/99
Owls 0-0 Chelsea | 25 April 1999 | Premier League
Owls 0-1 Chelsea | 13 February 1999 | FA Cup
Chelsea 1-1 Owls | 28 November 1998 | Premier League

Match Reports

Report: Chelsea 3-0 Owls

27 January 2019

Wednesday exited the FA Cup at Premier League Chelsea, going down 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.

The tie evoked memories of big games between the two teams in bygone years, long before the advent of VAR.

The technology was in place in this fourth round clash and in the first half proved the talking point with a tale of two penalties.

One was awarded to Wednesday before being overturned and the other stood that gave Chelsea the advantage, Willian scoring from 12 yards.

A Callum Hudson-Odoi strike in the second half and another from Willian sealed the Blues’ passage to round five and the Owls made the long haul back to Sheffield out of luck and the competition.

Despite being on the back foot through the early exchanges, it was Wednesday who created first as Adam Reach shot down the throat of Willy Caballero.

That was a rare sortie upfield for the Owls, but from their next attack, VAR took centre stage.

Joey Pelupessy tangled in the box with Ethan Ampadu and the referee pointed to the spot. Moments later, though, the penalty was ruled out by VAR – and Chelsea promptly ventured forward and won a spot kick of their own.

Sam Hutchinson was adjudged to have tripped Cesar Azpillicueta and again the referee had no hesitation. VAR upheld the decision this time and Willian did the formalities with 26 minutes gone.

The Owls had to regroup and this they did for the remainder of the opening period, defending stoutly, and the penalty aside, Keiren Westwood barely had a shot to save.

Wednesday upped the ante after the break and a looping cross from Reach rattled the frame of the goal, almost catching Cabalerro unawares.

Chelsea’s new loan recruit Gonzalo Higuain glanced a header wide at the other end but most of the play unfolded in the centre of the park.

That was until, with 65 minutes on the clock, the hosts all but put the tie to bed. Andreas Christensen spread accurately to Hudson-Odoi and the wideman cut inside to finish firmly past Westwood.

The uphill task was made all the more unlikely and try as they might, Wednesday found it difficult to stop the by now confident hosts dominating possession.

And there was no real surprise when the third goal arrived seven minutes from time as Willian doubled his tally with a well-placed drive following a clever give and go with substitute Olivier Giroud.

Wednesday: Westwood, Palmer, Lees, Thorniley, Fox, Boyd (Nuhiu 75), Bannan, Hutchinson, Pelupessy (Forestieri 69), Reach, Fletcher (Joao 75)

Match Reports

Ticket News

Chelsea tickets sold out

21 January 2019

Sheffield Wednesday head to Chelsea on Sunday for the FA Cup fourth round tie and tickets have sold out to visiting fans.

The Owls’ allocation of 5,917 at Stamford Bridge is a sell out for the 6.00pm kick-off.

Requests to go on the reserve list can be made by emailing ticketenquiries@swfc.co.uk with your ID number, Ticket Priority Points total and daytime contact number.

Wednesday defeated Luton 1-0 in the third round replay at Kenilworth Road last Tuesday, while the Blues booked their fourth round spot with a 2-0 home win over Nottingham Forest in round three.

It will be the first meeting between the two sides since April 2000 and the Owls’ first trip to Stamford Bridge since December 1999.

Sheffield Wednesday

Standings

Match preview: Chelsea v Wednesday

Report: Chelsea 3-0 Owls

Chelsea tickets sold out

Ticket details: Chelsea v Wednesday

Standings

Ticket News

Ticket details: Chelsea v Wednesday

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