Chelsea XI vs. Port Vale—FA Cup Quarterfinal: Injury News, Predicted Lineup

Victory for the Blues on Saturday evening will see them into the FA Cup semifinals.

Estêvão (right) finally returned to action before the international break. | Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Chelsea return to action after the international break with an extremely winnable FA Cup quarterfinal tie with League One strugglers Port Vale.

Liam Rosenior’s overseen a testing few weeks in west London. Not only have results started to trend downwards—four consecutive defeats ended Chelsea‘s Champions League campaign and damaged their chances of a top-five Premier League finish—but unhelpful comments from Enzo Fernández and Marc Cucurella have cast a shadow over how the club is being run.

Fernández’s open flirtation with Real Madrid has led to Rosenior dropping him from Chelsea’s next two games—this FA Cup tie with Port Vale and a bumper Premier League clash with Manchester City on April 12—and there will be close attention paid to how they get on in his absence.

Port Vale pulled off the upset of the fifth round against Sunderland, and may well regard this Chelsea team in their current state as primed for a giant-killing.

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Chelsea Still Without Key Defenders

Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah are still out injured. | ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images

While Rosenior was able to provide a positive injury update before the international break regarding the ankle injury Trevoh Chalobah sustained in the 3–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, the English center back is expected to be out until May.

The Blues also lost captain Reece James to another hamstring issue before their losses to PSG and Everton, but he should be back before the end of the month. That’s not merely good news for Chelsea supporters, but the England national team as well.

Elsewhere, Jamie Gittens should be closing in a full recovery from his hamstring injury—one he’d seemingly managed before suffering a setback last month. Estêvão did return to action before the break, meanwhile, and should be included in the starting lineup on Saturday—he could play in the No. 10 role—and Dário Essugo and Roméo Lavia may pair up in midfield with Fernández exiled and Moisés Caicedo in need of a post-international break breather.

Levi Colwill is yet to play a single minute this season due to an ACL tear, while goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen is dealing with another niggle.

• ⚠️ Key absentees, doubts: Enzo Fernández, Reece James, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Filip Jörgensen, Jamie Gittens, Mykhailo Mudryk.
• 🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-3-1

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Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Port Vale (4-2-3-1)

Estêvão could start in the No. 10 role. | FotMob

GK: Robert Sánchez—Jörgensen’s fitness issues mean Sánchez should remain Chelsea’s No. 1 this weekend, but the Spaniard hasn’t done all that much in recent appearances to suggest the Dane shouldn‘t come back in when fit again.

RB: Josh Acheampong—Malo Gusto impressed for the French national team during the break, but we could see young Acheampong get a run out at right back against League One opposition.

CB: Wesley Fofana—Tosin Adarabioyo’s repeated lapses in concentration are an unwelcome sight for Rosenior, who may lean on first-choice center back Fofana.

CB: Benoît Badiashile—Ex-Monaco star Badiashile is in line for a third FA Cup appearance after overcoming a recent illness.

LB: Marc Cucurella—Jorrel Hato has been a mainstay in this competition, but ’LinkedIn Liam’ may be keen to make a point that comments made by Cucurella over the break were barely worth noting.

DM: Roméo Lavia—So far, so good on the fitness front for Lavia. The midfielder’s been eased back in since his latest return from injury, and we can only Chelsea’s talented No. 45 builds some momentum during the back-end of the 2025–26 campaign.

DM: Dário Essugo—Essugo has had his own injury issues this season, and hasn’t featured all that much as a result. However, the glimpses we’ve seen have been promising enough to suggest that he’ll be okay against a third-tier midfield.

RW: Pedro Neto—Neto has a FA Cup hat-trick to his name already this season, and it was from the right flank where he did much of his damage against Hull City in the fourth round.

AM: Estêvão—It’s been a bleak period for Chelsea, but a ray of light has returned to their lives at a wonderful time. Estêvão has primarily been used down the right during his debut season at the Bridge, but there’s potential for Rosenior to utilize the Brazilian more centrally here.

LW: Alejandro Garnacho—Garnacho scored against Wrexham in a dramatic fifth round tie, and has been a feature of Chelsea‘s FA Cup run up to this point.

ST: Liam Delap—The English bulldozer has struggled in year one at Stamford Bridge, with supporters questioning whether he’s of the requisite level. Those queries won’t fade even if he shines on Saturday evening.

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