Chelsea vs Preston - FA Cup: TV channel, team news, lineups and prediction | OneFootball

Chelsea's 2023/24 FA Cup campaign begins on Saturday evening as they host Championship strugglers Preston North End in the third round.

The Blues were once synonymous with success in this competition and have lifted the FA Cup six times since 2000, but they were beaten in three consecutive finals between 2020 and 2022.

Mauricio Pochettino once played down the significance of England's biggest domestic cup during his time at Tottenham, but he can ill-afford to do the same in west London - even if he has already guided the Blues into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

There have undoubtedly been bright spots at the start of the Argentine's tenure, but inconsistency and haphazard finishing have plagued the Blues in 2023/24 thus far.

Still, they'll be expected to overcome a Preston side that have lost four of their last five in the second tier. The two-time winners will be looking to stun the hosts on Saturday after succumbing to Tottenham in the fourth round last season.

Here's 90min's preview of Saturday's FA Cup third round tie.

What time does Chelsea vs Preston kick-off?

Chelsea vs Preston H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Chelsea vs Preston on TV and live stream

Chelsea confirmed lineup vs Preston

Chelsea confirmed lineup vs Preston (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gilchrist, Disasi, Colwill, Gusto; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sterling, Palmer, Mudryk; Broja.

Preston confirmed lineup vs Chelsea

Preston confirmed lineup vs Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Woodman; Potts, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; McCann; Browne, Whiteman, Osmajic, Millar; Keane.

Chelsea vs Preston score prediction

The woes that have stricken Chelsea this season certainly aren't conducive to success in cup competitions, but the Blues should still have too much for Preston on Saturday.

There will be fringe players out to impress, while Nkunku has shown flashes of his brilliance after finally recovering from injury. Expect the Frenchman to star in this cup tie amid a fairly comfortable home win.