Chelsea v Plymouth commentary and team news: Bettinelli starts as James returns

The Blues will be out to put on a performance in their final fixture on these shores before jetting away for the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

Chelsea recorded a 2-0 win over Tottenham last time out while they eased into the FA Cup fourth round with a 5-0 victory over Chesterfield.

Plymouth, meanwhile, are seventh in League One and beat Championship outfit Birmingham 1-0 following Ryan James Law's extra-time winner earlier this month.

Chelsea v Plymouth: talkSPORT coverage

This FA Cup tie will kick-off at 12:30pm on Saturday, February 5.

Commentary will come from Alex Crook and former Chelsea and Swindon striker Sam Parkin.

talkSPORT.com will also be running a live blog for all the action and you can get all the latest news on the talkSPORT app as well.

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Chelsea v Plymouth: Team news

Chelsea

The hosts are expected to welcome back Andreas Christensen following his recovery from coronavirus before the international break.

But the Blues will still be without long-term absentee Ben Chilwell while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy remains away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Reece James is closing in on a return from a hamstring issue and Thomas Tuchel otherwise has a clean bill of health to choose from.

Chelsea's third choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli could be in line to start in goal and the likes of Saul Niguez could also be afforded some minutes.

Plymouth

The visitors might hand a debut to Steven Sessegnon after his arrival from Fulham on loan on deadline day.

The defender - the brother of Tottenham star Ryan - said: "I just want to play in a good side that wins week in week out and it's clear this side wants to win.

"It was an easy choice for me to come here."

Ryan Hardie missed three matches with a shoulder problem but returned to the bench as an unused substitute in the 3-1 win over Doncaster on Saturday.

Danny Mayor did make his comeback from a back problem but Plymouth remain without long-term absentees Brendan Galloway and George Cooper.