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Chelsea Team News at Charlton Athletic: Liam Rosenior, Marc Cucurella

Chelsea FC left back Marc Cucurella will miss the debut of new manager Liam Rosenior on Saturday when the Blues make the short trip to Charlton Athletic to begin their 2026 FA Cup campaign. That’s because he was red-carded in the 2-1 loss at Fulham last night, and he’ll now serve a one-match ban.

It’s only one match because he drew red for his holding back of Harry Wilson, in what was an obvious goal scoring opportunity

FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs

Chelsea FC at Charlton Athletic

Kickoff: Sat. Jan 10, 8pm

Venue: The Valley, Charlton, London, UK

Blues Team News

marc-cucurella

This kind of infraction carries a one match ban, not three. And even though this is a different competition, it occurred in a match regulated by the FA, so the disciplinary process carries over.

That match ultimately proved to be a “Chelsea Dagger” (our apologies to The Fratellis) in that match because the Blues then had to go down to only 10 men.

As for Rosenior, yes, he was signed, sealed and delivered in time to take in the match, but he wasn’t quite ready to take charge for it. He will do so here.

fa cup

Other than that, there are no changes in team news, as the Blues shift from one London derby to the other.

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank.He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.