Under pressure Lampard's Chelsea to scrape through
All the pressure and focus during Sunday's noon kick-off in the FA Cup between Chelsea and Championship club Luton Town will be squarely on Blues head coach Frank Lampard. The Stamford Bridge legend's job looks increasingly precarious despite his side picking up a slender victory over London rivals Fulham in the Premier League before being thoroughly schooled by fellow top four challengers Leicester City. Indeed, such has been their recent fall from grace, they're no longer even talked about as Champions League contenders, let alone the title, and visiting boss Nathan Jones will be hoping his troops can be the ones to grab a famous triumph and with it, passage to the fifth round. His goal-shy charges will still have an arduous task ahead of them, however. Read our preview here:
Time to Wern
Lampard, for all his faults, has been hindered by several of his supposedly top players, many of whom have been expensive acquisitions under his watch. The insipid and limp display in midweek is sure to be the catalyst to ring the changes in his bloated squad, and it will be intriguing for all concerned to see who survives any 'cull'. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy's performances have really tapered off after a strong start to life in England, and he could be replaced by the previously much-maligned Kepa between the sticks. Similarly, Emerson might come in for Ben Chilwell, whilst fit again Andreas Christensen should slot in as the left-sided centre back. French World Cup winners N'Golo Kanté and Olivier Giroud are big doubts for Sunday, and collectively represent a dilemma for their coach as to whether it's more prudent to risk them or not. As ever, he'll turn to Mason Mount to pull the strings in midfield (where the visitors happen to be strongest), and most vitally of all, he needs Timo Werner to start repaying the belief and price tag placed upon him. There is no guarantee whatsoever that he, Hakim Ziyech, or anyone else will be favoured by the next incumbent, so if nothing else, they must turn on the style before the campaign totally peters out, starting this weekend.
More Pelly, less Ruddock
It's been a strange old season for the Hatters. After defying the odds with their relegation escape last term, they currently sit closer to the play-offs than the relegation spots, on points as well as placing in the second tier. Nathan Jones' return to the hotseat at Kenilworth Road was not universally welcomed by the Bedfordshire outfit's fans, principally because of the rather ugly way he left for Stoke City when they were top of League One this time two years ago. Even so, few continue to begrudge him, given how he has almost certainly led them to a comfortable mid-table finish, barring some inexplicable drop-off of form. On Sunday, he will ensure that the midfield is well and truly packed and covers the width of the pitch to help prevent the three-man defence from being matched or even outnumbered in most situations. Custodian Simon Sluga, the club's record signing, has made the #1 position his own, and whilst he is likely to be very busy, his one big weakness, catching crosses, probably won't be brought to bear too much from open play, especially if Giroud is unavailable. The trio in the middle of Leicester loanee Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Luke Berry, and Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu are where most of the attacks originate, and the latter is courting interest from the top sides in the Championship because of the combination of his dyanism, dribbling, defensive awareness, and versatility. There'll be few better shop windows with which to tout himself than Sunday's high profile, televised game.
Gotta have faith
Luton have nothing to lose. Despite Chelsea's trials and tribulations, they're still expected to win the match with relative ease by most pundits, which would be the bare minimum to keep the wolves from Lampard's door, at least until next weekend. If the visitors had more of a significant goal threat, their odds would be a lot shorter to claim a famous win. As it is, with neither side racking up the goals, look to Betfair's generous price of 2.75 for under 2.5 instead.
