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Chelsea star hit by illness to miss FA Cup match against Liverpool

Chelsea star hit by illness to miss FA Cup match against Liverpool.

Chelsea host Liverpool on Tuesday night in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are experiencing a run of poor results but manager Frank Lampard will hope to turn things around with Liverpool’s arrival in west London. Chelsea have already played Liverpool twice this season drawing at full-time in the UEFA Super Cup before losing on penalties and losing 2-1 to the Reds at Stamford Bridge in the league.

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The Blues have won just once in their last five matches in all competitions. That win came against Tottenham Hotspur in the league. Last weekend, Chelsea could only manage a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth and with Everton arriving at Stamford Bridge next weekend, will have one eye on the big Premier League showdown.

The FA Cup fifth round will give Chelsea the opportunity to overturn their current form. A win would send them through to the semifinals but if they want to get to the last eight of the competition, they will need to do it without striker Tammy Abraham.

The Chelsea star has scored 15 goals in 34 matches this season and has been a revelation for the club. Abraham has missed two of the Blues’ last three league games as a persistent ankle injury has kept him sidelined. Recently, the striker had seen a specialist in Barcelona about his ankle. The news was relatively positive but it isn’t enough to get Abraham back in the team to face Liverpool.

Abraham is ruled out of Tuesday night’s game versus the Premier League leaders, but it isn’t his ankle keeping him out of the team this time. According to Lampard, the striker has an illness and will be kept away from the team to recover.

The loss of Abraham to an illness gives Liverpool an added boosts, especially after losing to Watford 3-0 at the weekend. Abraham would have most likely started for Chelsea had he been fit to play despite not playing in either of the Blues previous FA Cup matches against Nottingham Forest and Hull City.

Lampard will deploy either Michy Batshuayi or Olivier Giroud in the Chelsea starting XI. Giroud has recently returned from the wilderness after being frozen out by Lampard. The Frenchman has appeared in Chelsea’s last three league games scoring one goal.

Lampard will have selection headaches in attack but the good news is Chelsea are likely to face a rotated Liverpool side. The Blues will aim to end their two-match winless run this season against Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round.