FA CUP: Chelsea vs Bradford Preview

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says it will be "a disgrace" if the Premier League leaders are knocked out of the FA Cup by League One side Bradford. Captain John Terry and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will be rested, replaced by Kurt Zouma and Petr Cech. Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah are involved after being linked with moves.

Bradford have striker Billy Clarke back in contention after six games out with a knee injury, but on-loan goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will play no part.


Brad Halliday and Francois Zoko will be included, as will Matty Dolan following his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Chelsea have only lost two of their last 34 FA Cup matches (W26 D6 L2), though one of the draws led to elimination on penalties by Everton.
   

Bradford have lost their last 12 visits to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea, with their last win there being October 1912.

Chelsea and Bradford have met only once in the FA Cup, back in 1912 when the Bantams won 2-0.
   

Chelsea have won 23 and lost none of their last 27 FA Cup matches at Stamford Bridge in normal play. The only blot on their record was a penalty shootout defeat to Everton in that run.

Mourinho said: "To help the title race, the best thing is to lose against Bradford and to lose against Liverpool and to lose against Paris St-Germain and to play only Premier League until the end of the season.

"But not with us. Not with our mentality, not with our way of thinking about our job, not with Chelsea DNA.

"The other day, a coach of a big team was knocked out of the cup and he was saying 'good, very good, this is perfect for us, now we can focus on the other competitions'.

"If I lose against Bradford I don't say that. I say it's a disgrace."

Bradford beat Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa on their way to the 2013 League Cup final and Parkinson wants his team to be positive at Stamford Bridge.

"We're certainly not going to go there and sit back for the whole game," Parkinson said. "We have to make sure we've got the opportunity to attack them. We've got players in our team who I hope will cause Chelsea problems."

MATCH FACTS

• The only previous FA Cup meeting between these sides was in the second round in 1912. Bradford won the game 2-0 at Valley Parade.

• Chelsea have won the competition seven times - their first success was in 1970 and their most recent in 2012.

• Bradford won the FA Cup in 1911, beating Newcastle in a replay at Old Trafford.