1) Sarr’s Chelsea cup specialism under threat
Chelsea have fielded strong teams throughout their run – few clubs take upholding the sporting integrity of the FA Cup so seriously – with Lewis Hall, who excelled on his first-team debut against Chesterfield in the third round, the one genuinely unfamiliar name to be fielded so far. But the only player who has been present for every minute of their three Cup ties is Malang Sarr – indeed the 23-year-old has played every minute of every one of Chelsea’s domestic cup ties this season except the most important, the Carabao Cup final, which he watched from the bench. In that time he has played at centre-back in a four, as centre-back in a three, and at left-back, but his defending was criticised for both Luton goals in the fifth round and, having been unconvincing when given a rare Premier League outing against Newcastle last weekend, his position as Chelsea’s not-that-important-domestic-cup-tie specialist might be under threat. SB
