Chelsea play host to League One strugglers Port Vale on Saturday evening in the quarter-final of the English FA Cup.
The Blues will be looking forward to averting a potential 5-game losing streak while the visitors hope to add Chelsea to their giant killers list.
An upset is not far-fetched due to Port Vale’s cup exploits this season, but bookmakers still believe the gulf in quality between both sides should be enough to see Chelsea advance to their second cup semifinal of the campaign.
Chelsea primed to overcome Port Vale scare
It has been an uneventful couple of weeks in the camp of the world champions, with the team struggling to get even a draw.
Since defeating AFC Wrexham in the last round, Liam Rosenior’s side have played in the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League, suffering four defeats on the bounce.
The London-based club scored twice and conceded 12 in that period before the March international break.
Chelsea suffered an 8-2 on aggregate defeat in the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, a one-nil defeat to Newcastle United and a disgraceful three-nil defeat to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
On the domestic scene, the two-time UCL winners are sitting 6 points off the automatic Champions League slot, and what would mark a successful campaign is winning a trophy.
The only trophy realistically in their reach is the FA Cup, having exited the Carabao Cup, Champions League and being mathematically ruled out of winning the league.
In their bid to win their first FA Cup title since 2018, the Blues face Port Vale who have recorded wins over Premier League side Sunderland.
Betting sites may have favoured a Chelsea win, but the giant-slaying Port Vale are riding on the good form of their striker Ben Waine, who has 3 goals in 4 FA Cup appearances this season.
The Valiants are also the team with the highest number of cleansheets in the competition this season, with four from five games played.
They also head into the competition’s last eight for the first time in 72 years and are the least ranked team in this year’s quarterfinal.
Port Vale will face off with Chelsea for the first time in almost a century, with their last meeting being a one-nil win whilst they were both in the old Division Two back in 1929.
Pulling off a similar result on Saturday would be truly historic, securing their first FA Cup semi-final spot since 1954, while also making them the first League One team since Wigan in 2017/2018 to knock out two top-flight clubs in a single campaign.
Chelsea vs Port Vale Betting Trends
Chelsea are looking forward to getting a chance to win their first domestic trophy since 2018 while their visitors, Port Vale are hoping an historic FA Cup run will be the highlight of their horrendous season.
Here are some betting trends for both teams. Be sure to check out the offers from Nigeria’s top bookmaker – BetKing, and download its mobile app for Android and iPhone.
- Chelsea have a good record against lower-league opposition, winning each of their last 25 ties in the FA Cup.
- The Blues have progressed in each of their last six quarter-final fixtures in the FA Cup since losing 2-0 to Everton in 2016.
- Port Vale are on a run of five consecutive wins from the first round to the fifth round, most recently pulling off a shock one-nil win over Sunderland in March.
- The visitors have struggled recently, with 4 losses in their last 6 domestic matches and a poor away record of 12 losses in their last 23.
Match Prediction
The game at Stamford Bridge is primed to be a classic, with both sides expected to find the back of the net.
We can confidently say that Port Vale’s fairytale run will come to an end this weekend, even if it’s a second-fiddle Chelsea side that is paraded by Rosenior.
Ultimately, the statistics point to a potentially high-scoring one. with the prediction leaning towards over 2.5 goals scored in the game.
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