FA Cup: Where to watch Barnsley vs Chelsea on February 11, 2021

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, FA Cup, Chelsea, Barnsley

Chelsea will hope to keep their cup run going when they take on Barnsley in Thursday night's FA Cup fourth round tie.

Match preview

Chelsea will look to extend their unbeaten run under Thomas Tuchel when they travel to South Yorkshire to take on Barnsley on Thursday. The Blues seem to have been reborn following the arrival of the German manager as a positive start under the former Paris Saint-Germain boss has resulted in a four-game unbeaten run. Since drawing with Wolves in his first test, the 47-year-old coach has put out his players to pick up wins over Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United in the Premier League. They have so far conceded just one goal and have kept three clean sheets in the process. I

ndeed, while it still remains early days yet, the results are in no doubt better-looking than what was achieved in the latter days of the outgone Frank Lampard. But in giving due credits, the English manager can be commended for overcoming the prospect of any upsets and getting past both Morecambe and Luton Town to book a fifth round spot in the FA Cup competition.

Ahead of Thursday’s trip to the Oakwell Grounds, Chelsea have momentum on their side and they will only hope that it will be properly utilised as the opponents they will face will be out to ruin the party. Barnsley are currently sitting in 13th position on the Championship table and have accrued 36 points from 27 appearances. While there is not much to write home about as far as their form in the league is concerned, the Tykes impressed in the FA Cup by bypassing tough tests against Tranmere and Norwich.

They enter the upcoming encounter off the back of a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest over the weekend and will aim at bouncing back to winning ways. However, the odds are stacked against them considering the fact that they have lost all their last five meetings with top-flight clubs.

Key stats

Barnsley have secured wins in both of their FA Cup meetings with Chelsea. They won 4-0 in the third round in 1989 and 1-0 in the quarter-final in 2008.
Chelsea are unbeaten in four of their last five meetings with Barnsley in all competitions.
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 only two of their previous 54 FA Cup ties when playing against sides from a lower division.

Team news

Barnsley received a boost in personnel with Romal Palmer and Toby Sibbick returning back from injury. New-boy Daryl Dike is also available while Aapo Halme, Ben Williams and Liam Kitching are all set to miss out with injury.

For Chelsea, Thiago Silva will not feature against Barnsley as he recovers from the high injury he picked up in the win over Sheffield. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are expected to be match-fit while Christian Pulisic should also play a role in the game after missing the weekend’s Premier League game due to personal reasons.

Predicted starting XI

Barnsley: Collins; Sibbick, Helik, Andersen; Brittain, Mowatt, Palmer, Styles; Frieser, Woodrow, Adeboyejo
Chelsea: Kepa; James, Christensen, Zouma, Chilwell; Havertz, Kante, Gilmour; Ziyech, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi