Three Chelsea players set for FA Cup chance to impress against Hull | OneFootball

Blues boss Liam Rosenior expected to ring the changes against former club in fourth round

Chelsea will be aiming to reach the FA Cup fifth round when they face Hull tonight.

The match serves as a homecoming for former Hull player and manager Liam Rosenior, but it is also a big chance to impress for some of Chelsea’s bit-part players, with their head coach set to ring the changes.

Mamadou Sarr

On the bench against Wolves and Leeds, Hull offers a great chance for Mamadou Sarr to start at centre-back and make his first appearance for Chelsea since being recalled early from a loan stint at Strasbourg.

He showed strong form in the first half of the season in France (under Rosenior) and then triumphed at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.

Rosenior has effectively guaranteed that Sarr will feature at Hull, saying: “Mamadou's got a great chance to start the game.

“He knows me very well and my expectations and demands with the players.

Sarr’s only appearance for Chelsea to date came at the Club World Cup last summer

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“He needs time to acclimatise, but now I think he's in a really good place and he'll definitely see the pitch at some point on Friday.”

The 20-year-old may well go on to prove a helpful addition to Rosenior’s centre-back options as the second half of the season continues, but first he must hit the ground running in what would be only his second-ever appearance for Chelsea.

His first was an eight-minute cameo off the bench against ES Tunis at the Club World Cup last summer.

Who he will partner in defence is harder to ascertain, but Chelsea fans will be certain to keep a close eye on how he fares.

Jorrel Hato

It hadn’t quite been happening for the summer recruit from Ajax under previous Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca.

However, since the Italian left and caretaker coach Calum McFarlane used him against both Manchester City and Fulham, Jorrel Hato has shown himself to be a capable and versatile player, able to operate at centre-back and, more often, at left-back.

Marc Cucurella is sidelined against Hull so that makes it even likelier that the Dutchman will start.

Jorrel Hato scored the first goal of the Liam Rosenior era at Chelsea

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Hato’s appearance off the bench against Leeds on Tuesday was a decent showing, and he was also the first goalscorer of the Rosenior era at Chelsea when he slammed in an excellent half-volley in the previous round of the FA Cup against Charlton.

It is easy to forget that Hato is just 19 and still in his developmental years, but his form when used by Rosenior in recent weeks has been impressive and he should get a chance to show his quality from the off on Friday.

Liam Delap

This should be a much-needed chance to impress for striker Liam Delap, who has fallen down the pecking order lately because of Joao Pedro’s excellent form.

The Brazilian has scored six goals in his last eight appearances for Chelsea across all competitions, and that has meant Delap’s game time has been restricted mostly to cameo appearances off the bench.

Liam Delap has struggled to impress for Chelsea since joining from Ipswich

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Delap, 23, should get meaningful minutes in Hull, where he spent the 2023/24 season on loan. His manager at the time was Rosenior.

Delap has scored twice this season, against Barcelona and Fulham, but is yet to hit top form at the club he joined in the summer for £30million following relegation from the Premier League with Ipswich.

A goal or two this evening would pose a welcome question to Rosenior ahead of important matches to come for Chelsea.