by LONDON, Sporting Alert – Chelsea have named their starting lineup to face Scunthorpe United in today’s FA Cup third-round tie at Stamford Bridge.
Livescores FA Cup 3rd Round Tie | Follow Live Commentary | Live Radio Stream talkSport
The English Premier League outfits will field a strong side for this matchup, with manager Guus Hiddink taking no chance at being knocked out of the cup this early.
In fact, Hiddink keeps seven of the starters from their 3-0 away win at Crystal Palace last Sunday, which is a clear sign that the Chelsea boss means business.
Among the starters today for the Blues is Spanish forward Pedro, who comes into the starting line-up in place of injured midfield playmaker Eden Hazard, who is unavailable.
Pedro will join Oscar in support of Diego Costa, who will lead the attack again today as he seeks to hit some form in what is expected to be a very busy second half of the season for Chelsea.
Also coming into the starting lineup today is Asmir Begovic, who will be in goal, with Thibaut Courtois on the bench and is expected to be an unused substitute today.
Gary Cahill and Ramires have also kept their places in the starting team, while Courtois, John Terry and John Mikel Obi also made way.
For Scunthorpe United, they only make one adjustment to the side that featured the last time out, with Murray Wallace coming in and Niall Canavan dropping to the bench.
Mark Robins thinks his side is confident enough to go to Stamford Bridge and deliver a good performance that the traveling fans will welcome.
Chelsea Team to play Scunthorpe: Begovic; Ivanovic (c), Zouma, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Pedro; Diego Costa. Subs: Courtois, Terry , Baba, Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Kenedy, Traore.
Scunthorpe Team to play Chelsea: Daniels; Clarke, Mirfin, Wallace, Laird; Bishop, Dawson (c), Ness; Van Veen, Madden, Williams. Subs: Anyon, Wiseman, Canavan, Goode, King, Wootton, Henderson, Adelakun,
