Chelsea are walking a disciplinary tightrope ahead of their FA Cup trip to Wrexham, with Pedro Neto among three players just one booking away from a domestic cup suspension.
Liam Rosenior’s side travel to the Racecourse to take on an in-form Wrexham, who are unbeaten in five and have won four of those matches across all competitions.
Wrexham haven’t lost any of their last five games, picking up four wins along the way. Chelsea’s last trip to the Racecourse Ground was also during a pre-season game in 2023, where they came away with a 5-0 victory. Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, Conor Gallagher and Ian Maatsen all scored that day.
Ryan Reynolds has plenty of reason to be excited about the draw. He even predicted the fixture would happen after their meeting during that preseason tour of America.
Pedro Neto, Benoit Badiashile and Mamadou Sarr are walking disciplinary tightrope
The FA Cup doesn’t follow the same yellow card rules as the Premier League, so suspensions for bookings won’t carry over between the two competitions.
Even so, Mamadou Sarr, Pedro Neto and Benoit Badiashile are all just one booking away from serving a suspension within the FA Cup itself. All three will be available to face Wrexham, but another card would see them miss their next cup fixture.
Sarr and Neto were among Chelsea’s top performers in their recent win over Hull City, so both should be considered likely starters again this weekend. Plus, Neto recently sat out a Premier League match against Aston Villa due to suspension.
Cole Palmer may get a rest in Wrexham match
Liam Rosenior may have an opportunity to look after Cole Palmer’s fitness by using Pedro Neto in the FA Cup tie against Wrexham.
Palmer has finally returned to full fitness, but with a busy March ahead, including a Champions League fixture against PSG, it could be a good time to give him a break. Neto has shown he can fill the gap; he played as the central number 10 in the last round against Hull City and scored three times.
This setup would allow Alejandro Garnacho and possibly Estevao Willian, if he returns from injury, to play out wide, keeping Chelsea’s attack well-balanced.
