David
Luiz and Marcos Alonso will be rested when Premier League leaders Chelsea
play Wolves in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.
John Terry could replace Luiz, who has been playing with a knee injury,
while Nathan Ake and Kenedy are options to replace Alonso at left wing-back.
Antonio Conte's side have lost just once since October, beating Peterborough
and Brentford on their way to the fifth round.
Wolves enjoyed a fine start to 2017 that included a shock win over Liverpool
at Anfield, but Paul Lambert's side have lost all three of their games in
February.
Team news
Lambert hopes to have Jack Price and Nouha Dicko available for selection,
but Joe Mason will not return to training until next week and Ivan Cavaleiro
remains on the sidelines.
With no midweek game next week, Chelsea are unlikely to make wholesale
changes, although Conte confirmed Luiz and Alonso will be rested.
Diego Costa and Eden Hazard could continue, while Cesc Fabregas is also
likely to feature.
Opta stats
The last time Wolves and Chelsea met in the FA Cup was in Round 6 in
1993/94, which saw the Blues win thanks to a Gavin Peacock goal.
Wolves were beaten 6-0 in the Capital One Cup by Chelsea in September 2012.
Gary Cahill scored the opening goal while Victor Moses scored the sixth.
The last team to knock out both Chelsea and Liverpool in the same FA Cup
campaign was Barnsley in 2007/08.
Pedro has scored three times and assisted another two goals for Chelsea in
the FA Cup this season.
Helder Costa scored in Round 3 against Stoke, then provided assists for both
goals v Liverpool in Round 4.
Chelsea have won nine of their last 10 games in all competitions v Wolves
(L1), keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
After winning five successive away games, Chelsea have won just one of their
last four in all competitions (D2 L1).
Conte's side have failed to score in just one of their last 11 away games in
all competitions.
Merson's prediction
Wolves were playing well a few weeks ago, but have had a sticky patch
lately, losing games against struggling Wigan and Burton.
It's a nice big pitch at Molineux and Chelsea don't have any European games,
so they can focus on winning the Premier League and the FA Cup. I can't see
anything but a comfortable Chelsea win.
PAUL PREDICTS: 0-4 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
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