FA Cup clash: Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea travel to London rivals Charlton in the third round
Chelsea Football Newsletter
The new boss is expected to make changes from the midweek derby defeat by Fulham for his maiden game in charge as some squad players get a chance to impress and a number of key stars are rested for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie against Arsenal.
Also in the dugout for the first time at The Valley will be Rosenior’s new Chelsea coaching staff, which includes a mixture of previous Blues employees and coaches he worked with in his last job at Strasbourg.
It also includes Calum McFarlane, who was Chelsea’s caretaker manager for the last two games but has been promoted to first-team coach following Rosenior’s appointment after he impressed when stepping up after Enzo Maresca’s departure.
Rosenior could name an experimental lineup for his first game this evening, with Championship opponents Charlton considered beatable opposition for a Chelsea team for whom games are coming thick and fast.
Debut: Liam Rosenior leads Chelsea for the first time against Charlton in the FA Cup
There could be game time for second-choice goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, as well as midfielder Andrey Santos, whom Rosenior coached when he spent the second half of last season on loan at Strasbourg.
Estevao Willian did not play against Fulham and could come back into the fold, while Cole Palmer is unlikely to play many, if any, minutes.
Shim Mheuka from the Chelsea development side trained with the first team on Thursday for what was Rosenior’s first session at Cobham.
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Marc Cucurella is suspended following his first-half red card against Fulham.
Chelsea cannot call on Levi Colwill or Romeo Lavia against Charlton as they continue to recover from longer-term injuries. Dario Essugo trained on Thursday but is still a doubt.
Predicted Chelsea XI vs Charlton (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Hato; Santos, Caicedo; Estevao, Buonanotte, Gittens; Delap
Doubt: Essugo
Injured: Colwill, Lavia
Suspended: Cucurella
Time and date: 8pm GMT on Saturday January 10, 2026
Venue: The Valley