Chelsea face lower league opposition in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, as they host Chesterfield at Stamford Bridge.

While Thomas Tuchel’s side are second in the Premier League and chasing trophies on multiple fronts, that’s not too dissimilar to their opponents - just at a rather higher level.

Chesterfield are top of the National League and, instead of the Champions League and League Cup, are through to this round of the bigger domestic cup competition for the first time since 2014/15.

The Blues have been runners-up in the FA Cup in each of the last two seasons and are seeking to go one better this time.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.

When is the game?

The match kicks off at 5:30pm GMT on Saturday 8 January at Stamford Bridge.

Where can I watch it?

The game is available free to air via BBC Sport. While it is not slated for broadcast on one of the main BBC TV channels, viewers can watch on compatible television sets through the BBC iPlayer or Red Button. It will also be streamed via the BBC Sport desktop website.

What is the team news?

Chelsea still have a defensive injury crisis with Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah among those out. Edouard Mendy is at the Africa Cup of Nations and both N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva are out with Covid.

Jack Clarke misses out for the non-league visitors with a hamstring injury but they otherwise have a full squad available.

Predicted line-ups

Chelsea - Kepa, Simons, Rudiger, Sarr, Hudson-Odoi, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Ziyech, Pulisic, Werner

Chesterfield - Loach, Williams, Gunning, Kerr, Miller, Oyeleke, Weston, Mandeville, Whittle, Khan, Tshimanga

Odds

Chelsea 1/16

Draw 16/1

Chesterfield 50/1

Prediction

Unless the Blues rotate heavily to cope with absences and bring plenty more young prospects into the side, it’s tough to see beyond a home victory by a convincing scoreline. Chelsea 4-0 Chesterfield.

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