Team
news and stats ahead of Barnsley vs Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round on
Thursday (kick-off 8pm).
Team news
Barnsley, who have had nearly fortnight off, have Romal Palmer and Toby
Sibbick back from injury for the FA Cup fifth-round clash with Chelsea at
Oakwell, while new signing Daryl Dike is also available.
But Aapo Halme, Ben Williams and Liam Kitching are all likely to miss out
with injury.
Thomas Tuchel has admitted Chelsea cannot rush linchpin defender Thiago
Silva's recovery from a thigh issue.
Brazil stalwart Silva will miss Thursday's trip to Barnsley, with Chelsea
boss Tuchel conceding the Blues simply have to stay patient with the
36-year-old's recovery.
Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech will start at Barnsley as Tuchel rotates
resources and hands a number of fringe players the chance to impress.
Opta stats
Barnsley have won both of their FA Cup meetings with Chelsea, winning 4-0 in
the third round in 1989 and 1-0 in the quarter-final in 2008.
Chelsea have won four of their last five meetings with Barnsley in all
competitions, including a 6-0 home win in the League Cup earlier this
season.
Since beating Liverpool (2-1) and Chelsea (1-0) en route to reaching the
semi-final in 2007-08, Barnsley have lost their last five FA Cup ties
against Premier League sides by an aggregate score of 2-15.
Chelsea have been eliminated from just two of their last 54 FA Cup ties
against sides from a lower division, going out to Barnsley in 2007-08 and
Bradford City in 2014-15.
Barnsley have had 16 shots on target across their two FA Cup matches this
season - only Liverpool (19) and Tottenham (18) have had more across the
third and fourth rounds of the competition this term.
Chelsea's Tammy Abraham has had a hand in eight goals in his last six FA Cup
starts (5 goals, 3 assists), netting a hat-trick in the last round against
Luton Town.
FA Cup 2020/21 - key dates and draw
The FA Cup schedule has been confirmed, with the final set to take place at
Wembley on Saturday May 15.
There will be no replays this season to help ease fixture congestion.
Fifth round: February 9-11
Quarter-finals: Saturday March 20
Semi-finals: Saturday April 17
Final: Saturday May 15
top