Date: Saturday 10th January 2026
Venue: The Valley
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Well, Rosenior’s big managerial debut sees him whisked off to The Valley, where he’ll try to guide us past Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round. If he’s under the illusion that facing a Championship side is going to be easy compared to the Fulham disaster, he clearly wasn’t watching properly Wednesday night. That Fulham game? Best left in the memory bin. Eghbali picked his starting XI by closing his eyes and spinning a bottle, and McFarlane’s substitutions looked suspiciously like he’d let predictive text take the wheel – maybe next time, Siri can manage the team. The only bright spot was the away fans, who were so impressive they probably deserved a contract themselves. Meanwhile, the predicted slide down the table is underway, and in a shock twist worthy of Blue co’s standard decision-making, McFarlane’s reward is a shiny spot on the first team staff. Who saw that coming? (Not Mystic Meg, apparently.)
Rosenior talked a good game in his presser, but as any Chelsea fan knows, words cost nothing – except when you’re on a six-year deal and destined to be paid handsomely to take a walk in a year. But before Rosenior starts eyeing severance packages, he’s got a bit of alchemy to attempt: turning this squad from a pig’s ear into something vaguely resembling a silk purse. It’s not looking promising, judging by previous attempts. Charlton themselves have been enduring their own pain, sitting 19th in the Championship and boasting just 2 wins in their last 14 – so they’ll be licking their lips after our toothless midweek showing.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane: the last time these two met, it was the Premier League 2007, and Frank Lampard (yes, we really did have legends back then) banged in the winner to give us the 3 points. No points at stake tonight thankfully, although hopefully the game will bring a whole lot of earache for Eghbali and Clearlake again – and possibly progression to the fourth round – although I wouldn’t count on the latter.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into today’s game, Charlton manager, Nathan Jones, says “You start at the third round [when you’re in the Championship] and you’ve got that opportunity of getting a big one, which is always nice because it’s a test, it’s not because we want to high-five Liam Delap or anyone. What we have to make sure is that it doesn’t become just an autograph session. It becomes a proper game where we can test ourselves, test our structure, test what we do.”
Eghbali’s latest gofer, Liam Rosenior, meanwhile, says “Nathan [Jones] is top. He’s had an outstanding career as a manager. It is going to be a very difficult game. They play with real intensity, they’re very, very difficult to play against. It’s going to be a typical English cup third round tie in January, and my players need to be able to stand up to that intensity.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Charlton, Kayne Ramsay and Onel Hernandez (both hamstring), Josh Edwards (ankle) and Matty Godden (knee) are injured.
For Chelsea, Levi Colwill (knee), and Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo (both thigh) remain out injured. Mykhaylo Mudryk is still suspended long-term, whilst Cucurella serves a ban for a daft challenge in the game against Fulham.
TEAMS
CHARLTON (Possible line-up): Kaminski; Gillesphey, Jones, Bell; Bree, Docherty, Coventry, Carey, Campbell; Leaburn, Kelman
CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Jorgensen; Acheampong, Fofana, Badiashile, Hato; Caicedo, Santos, Gittens; Estevao, Garnacho, Delap
LAST MEETING
Charlton 0-1 Chelsea (3rd February 2007)
CURRENT FORM (ALL)
CHARLTON: DWLLDD
CHELSEA: WDLDDL
OTHER STUFF
This is the first meeting since 2007
Charlton have lost eight of their last 11 in all competitions against their London rivals
Chelsea have faced Charlton twice before in the FA Cup, winning both games 3-0 – in the fourth round
Charlton have been eliminated in each of their last five FA Cup third round ties
Chelsea have progressed from 61 of their last 63 FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Charlton 0-2 Chelsea