An 8pm Saturday kick-off in round three of the FA Cup at The Valley matches eight-time winners Chelsea with tier-two Charlton Athletic. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton give their preview for the first meeting of these two London sides since February 2007.
The last time we faced the Addicks, the Blues claimed a 1-0 Premier League victory against the south-east Londoners thanks to Frank Lampard’s strike from distance.
This is our third-successive away fixture across all competitions but crucially it is the first under the fresh leadership of head coach Liam Rosenior, against a team his father Leroy represented during the 1991/92 campaign.
Charlton currently stand 19th in the Championship in their 19th season since dropping out of the top flight. No lower-league team has beaten the Blues in England’s oldest cup competition since Bradford City in 2015.
Prior to meeting Manchester City in 2023, Chelsea had not lost a round-three fixture since Manchester United’s infamous 5-3 win in 1998, and the Blues have now won 26 of the past 27 opening-round ties.
Following disappointment across the borough at Fulham in midweek in the league, minds are now fixed on securing a fourth-straight derby win at The Valley and third against the Addicks in this competition.
The west Londoners are five shy of 800 goals scored in this competition.
### Most FA Cup final appearances
Manchester United - 22Arsenal - 21Chelsea - 16Liverpool - 15Everton - 13Manchester City - 13Newcastle United - 13Aston Villa - 11
West Bromwich Albion 10
The history
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Chelsea and Charlton have met twice before in this competition, starting in round four in early-1963. That was during Britain’s Big Freeze, one of the coldest periods on record, and the weather forced postponements to the Blues’ third-round replay against Tranmere Rovers and the Addicks’ hosting of Cardiff City.
By 19 February, both had progressed, but the relentless cold snap ensured the match was delayed until 6 March. Chelsea were the best-drilled side in the league at the time and struck early when Terry Venables set up Bert Murray, who looped over the keeper.
The Blues’ overlapping full-backs Eddie McCreadie and Ken Shellito initiated waves of attacks and Tommy Mulholland’s breakaway strike made it 2-0 before the interval. A Bobby Tambling volley five minutes into the second half discouraged any comeback by the hosts, and it finished 3-0.
‘It was soccer on the grand scale,’ wrote Desmond Hackett in the Express, ‘with Charlton’s mighty Valley filled even to the distant corners where, on normal occasions, sheep may safely graze.’
In January 1995, 32 years later, the teams met in round three at Stamford Bridge, where under-soil heating had recently been installed to mitigate low temperatures. Again, the Blues caught the Addicks napping.
Inside 10 minutes, Gavin Peacock nipped in to open the scoring, and would net in every round up to the final that season, while other players froze, expecting the referee to whistle for a penalty after John Spencer was felled. Frank Sinclair added a second from a corner delivered by Charlton old boy Scott Minto before the half was done, and late on Spencer broke free to put the seal on another 3-0 victory.
Current Athletic player Miles Leaburn’s father Carl – like him an awkward forward – was in Steve Gritt’s side that day.
Know this...
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Chelsea have progressed from 59 of our past 61 FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, beating Morecambe 5-0 in round three last season. Charlton exited at this stage a year ago, with a 2-1 loss to Preston North End.
This is just the fifth time in 22 seasons that Chelsea have been drawn away in round three of this competition. The Blues have not lost an FA Cup away tie in the capital since 2004.
In 1915, Chelsea became the first Football League club from London to reach the FA Cup final. Charlton won the FA Cup for the only time in their history by beating Burnley 1-0 in 1947.
The Addicks are the 17th-best performers on home soil in the 24-club Championship.
The Blues have reached the FA Cup semi-finals in six of the past nine campaigns and have lifted this famous trophy eight times. Only Arsenal (14) and Man Utd (13) have won it more.
The Addicks have bowed out in this round to higher opposition in three of their past 18 seasons outside the Premier League – 3-0 at Spurs in 2011, 4-0 at Fulham the following season and 1-0 at home to Norwich in 2022.
Paul Elliott, who became the Premier League’s first black captain while at Chelsea, is now vice-chair at The Valley.
FA Cup regulations
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Each FA Cup tie will be decided on the day, with no replays. Should the scores be level after second-half stoppage time, 30 minutes of extra time will be played and, if necessary, the winner will be determined by penalty kicks.
The VAR system will only come into operation from round five onwards.
The draw for round four will be carried out at 6.35pm on Monday, and Chelsea or Charlton will be represented by ball eight. Those fourth-round fixtures will be played over the weekend of 14/15 February.