• Chelsea have only kept three clean sheets across their 19 matches under Liam Rosenior, with these shut outs coming against Hull, Pafos and Brentford. 

• Chelsea have lost their last four matches across all competitions.

• Port Vale have won their last three FA Cup games 1-0, including a victory over Sunderland in the last round.

• Port Vale sit rock bottom of League One and have only won four of their 19 away games in the league this season.

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📂 Chelsea v Port Vale Cheat Sheet

📈 Chelsea v Port Vale Form & Tactics

I need to be careful with my words here to ensure that they pass the edit, but Chelsea are an absolute mess at the moment. Four straight defeats have piled the pressure on Liam Rosenior, with these losses including an 8-2 defeat to PSG over two legs as well as a 3-0 loss to Everton just before the international break which has shattered Chelsea’s chances of finishing in a Champions League position.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the FA Cup is now Chelsea’s only hope for salvaging something from this campaign. Somehow, the two week break has made things worse for Chelsea with Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella both coming out with worrying interviews about the state of the club, and the strategy of the club which revolves around signing exclusively young talent. When two of your most senior players come out with such statements, something is deeply wrong at the club. 

Port Vale will be looking to capitalise on the woes of Chelsea over the last few weeks, but it will be an uphill task with Port Vale sitting rock bottom of League One at the moment. This does give them a bit of freedom, as it’s hard to see them finding a way out from the relegation zone with 14 points keeping them from safety. They’ll be aware that Chelsea are low on confidence at the moment, though I do expect the quality of the home side to eventually shine through and get Liam Rosenior’s side over the line.

📔 Chelsea v Port Vale Formation & Team News

Liam Rosenior is a very modern coach, and has some interesting ideas, but Chelsea is not the place to experiment with those. He hasn’t had time to properly get his ideas across, which is evident when watching Chelsea - the players look confused at times and can be seen asking for clarification on their instructions which is why the side looks so disjointed at the moment. 

Chelsea should line up in a 4-2-3-1, but this changes when the Blues are in possession with Rosenior wanting his side to build up with a back three. This also involves the goalkeeper, but it’s clear that Chelsea haven’t had time to work on these intricate and long sequence passing patterns which leads to mistakes at the back which have been punished over the last few games.

Chelsea’s defensive structure is also lacking at the moment, and a big reason as to why they have only kept out Hull, Pafos and Brentford across the 19 games that Liam Rosenior has taken charge of. 

Port Vale will almost certainly line up in a 5-4-1, or another variation of this shape as they look to stay in the tie for as long as possible. It won’t take much to frustrate this Stamford Bridge crowd, so if Port Vale can keep things tight in the early stages - they should grow in confidence and feed off the annoyance from the stands.

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