How should Chelsea line up against fourth division Morecambe in FA Cup third round?

Chelsea take a break from the cutthroat drama of a most congested Premier League to take on fourth division (League 2) Morecambe FC at the Bridge on Sunday (provided all COVID tests come back negative enough, and all that usual jazz).

Given the occasion, the opposition, and the circumstances, it’s a wonderful chance for an Academy Day, opportunities for which have been a bit less prevalent this season than last (in part thanks to the big summer spending spree, but also the various coronavirus restrictions and bubbles). Chelsea do have practically a full squad available — only Reece James (hamstring) and Andreas Christensen (knee) are expected to miss out through injury — but Morecambe are precisely the sort of senior opposition that the U23s have been testing themselves against in the last several seasons as one of the Academy club entrants into the EFL Trophy.

While as usual there are a multitude of excellent candidates for first-team action in the Development Squad, the five who are most likely to do so are powerful attacker Tino Anjorin (whom we already know), skillful midfielder Lewis Bate (whom we also know from a matchday squad or two already), versatile full backs Tino Livramento and Henry Lawrence (capable on either flank, midfield, and even wing), and 16-year-old goal-machine Jude Soonsup-Bell, who’s burst onto the scene this season with 16 goals in just 12 appearances for the U18s and U23s combined.

Choose wisely.

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