The Valiants head to the capital as we face Club World Champions Chelsea in the FA Cup Quarter-Finals at Stamford Bridge
It’s been a hell of a ride for Vale to reach this stage of England’s most prestigious cup competition, knocking out Championship side Bristol City and Premier League outfit Sunderland in the process.
This is the first time Port Vale will play in the last eight of the FA Cup since 1954, when we defeated Leyton Orient 1-0 to reach the Semi-Finals. Over 6,000 Valiants will descend on the capital with hopes of seeing their side cause another upset.
Press Conference Takeaways
Here’s what Jon Brady had to say regarding Saturday’s cup clash:
“I’m looking forward to it! It’s probably one of the biggest tests in world football and to go to Chelsea”.
“I’m proud for the football club, for the players because it has been a tough season, but there is a bright light there and we earnt the right to be in this position”.
Our Opponents
The Blues play their home games at Stamford Bridge, which is in Fulham, West London, approximately 170 miles from Vale Park. Chelsea are no strangers to winning the FA Cup, having won this trophy eight times, with the most recent success coming in 2018 when they beat Manchester United 1-0.
It’s not just the FA Cup that has brought success to Chelsea. They are six-time Premier League champions, two-time Champions League winners and most recently beat PSG 3-0 to lift the FIFA Club World Cup.
Chelsea currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League, six points adrift of those elusive Champions League places. Since the beginning of this campaign, Chelsea have been inconsistent with their form and are currently on a four-game winless streak. This saw them knocked out of the Champions League by PSG and defeated 3-0 by Everton before the international break.
The Opposition Dugout
Liam Rosenior is the man in the hot seat in West London, having taken over from Enzo Maresca when the latter was sacked in January of this year. The 41-year-old is in his third managerial role following spells at Hull City and Strasbourg in France, which is under the same ownership as Chelsea. Since his appointment at the start of the year, he has taken charge of nineteen matches, winning ten of those.
Before making the step into management, Rosenior had a sixteen-year career as a professional player. He began his career playing for Bristol City before making the move to Fulham and proceeded to make his Premier League debut. Following a loan spell at Torquay United, he made the permanent switch to Reading, where he would go on to make 67 appearances. He would then go onto spend five years with the Yorkshire side, Hull City, scoring his one and only Premier League goal against West Brom in this period.
Player to Watch
One of Chelsea’s standout performers this season has been their number twenty, Joao Pedro. The Brazilian is his club's top scorer and top assister with fourteen goals and five assists. Joao has recently netted a hat-trick against Aston Villa and scored in Chelsea’s 4-2 victory in the last round against Wrexham. This is Pedro’s first season at the club following his arrival from Brighton last summer.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 1-0 Chelsea, 6th April 1929
The Valiants haven’t ever won away at Chelsea but have beaten the Londoners three times at home, with the most recent victory coming almost 100 years ago at the Old Recreation Ground.
An Albert Pynegar goal was all that separated the two sides in 1929 and gave the manager at the time, Joe Schofield, the bragging rights over the West London side.
