Phil Parkinson wants to draw on FA Cup history when Wrexham host Chelsea

This season they have already seen off one Premier League side, beating Nottingham Forest 4-3 on penalties in the third round after a 3-3 draw at home.

And Parkinson has his own special memories of facing Chelsea after his Bradford side came from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at Stamford Bridge in a fourth-round tie back in 2015.

“I was thinking about it this week leading into the game,” Parkinson said of that day. “The build-up to that, the preparations and the principles we took into the game.

“We were two down but playing well in the game. We didn’t let it knock us, we kept believing and stuck to the game plan and got the goal back before half-time. Obviously it was a memorable second half!

“We mentioned that to the players, on Saturday everything is possible. I think you’ve got to go into every game believing and if not you may as well not turn up.

“We’ve got to go in with belief but also an understanding of the underdog mentality and what boxes we’ve got to tick to make this evening as difficult as possible for Chelsea.”

That win over Chelsea came two years after Parkinson had led the League Two Bantams to the League Cup final, and the 58-year-old boasts a proud record in cup competitions.

With Wrexham, he oversaw a 4-3 win over Championship side Coventry when they were still in the National League in 2022-23, taking Premier League-bound Sheffield United to a replay in the next round before bowing out.

Three consecutive promotions later, Wrexham are the in-form team in the Championship, up into the play-off places and on a run of three straight wins, suggesting their cup run is anything but a distraction.

“When we beat Ipswich (in the fourth round) we spoke to the lads about putting the Chelsea game on the backburner, concentrate on the league form,” he said. “We go into this weekend with an ‘everything to gain, nothing to lose’ mindset, but also in a strong position in the league.”

Wrexham’s form has fans dreaming of a fourth promotion and Premier League football, and that makes Saturday’s tie another measure of their readiness to make the next step up.

“All through the divisions we’ve had cup ties, like when we played Coventry and Sheffield United, and we’ve spoken to the players about having that test against better quality players, tactically and their physical power, of the next level,” he said.

“This is the next stage for us against a team of Chelsea’s quality. The main thing on the night is to bring our best performance, but also for ourselves, to see where we are individually and collectively against a team of this standing.”