The Chelsea fans here in the Transfer Tavern will be hoping they can brush aside, former manager Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle to progress to the next round.

The reigning Premier League champions will be hoping for a different type of silverware, come to the end of the season. Blues boss Antonio Conte has never won a cup competition in his time as a manager and will surely be hoping to put an end to that drought, by first taking the step to progress to the next round.

Chelsea are looking like a team that needs strengthening in certain areas but Conte has some fringe players that our regulars think should get some much-needed game time in this weekend match.

Indeed a team of Chelsea’s statue need to be challenging on all fronts, and the squad should be able to come in at any point to perform. With that in mind, our landlord takes a look at two of the Chelsea fringe players that should get a look today…

Charly Musonda Jr.

The Belgian largely impressed our local fans in the pub this season. Despite not picking up as many minutes as he’d like, Musonda can be the sign of the future according to most in here today and much is expected of him going forward.

The midfielder can play right across the field and is a dangerous man coming in from the wings, where he’s been mainly used this season by Conte. If Musonda wants to push for more of a starting role, he will have to impress against Newcastle this weekend.

Danny Drinkwater

Despite making 17 appearances this season, his minutes total to eight full matches. The England international’s last-minute transfer in the summer came as a surprise to most of the regulars and fans alike, though the Blues in our bar were certainly hoping to see more.

However, Drinkwater was instrumental in Leicester City winning the Premier League and pairing him back up with midfield enforcer N’Golo Kante might reap benefits along the line somewhere for Conte. Although at this moment in time Drinkwater must first start to get more first-team minutes under his belt and a great way to start is in the FA Cup.