Chelsea find out who stands in their way of a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup semi finals: A very favourable draw that could have been so much worse
On Saturday evening, Chelsea secured their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 4-2 victory over Welsh side Wrexham after extra time.
Despite the hosts taking the lead twice, Liam Rosenior's side were able to rally back and get over the line, even if the extra half an hour was not overly welcome with a Champions League tie away to PSG on the horizon.
Nevertheless, getting through was the most important thing, and that is what the team did.
On Monday evening, ahead of the all Premier League affair between West Ham United and Brentford, the draw for the quarter-finals were made by former Chelsea winger Joe Cole, as well as Joe Hart live on TNT Sports.
The draw confirmed that the Blues will be facing Port Vale at home. With all due respect, this was absolutely the perfect tie. Genuinely could not have asked for a better draw.
As it stands, Port Vale are currently at the bottom of League One, albeit they have quite a few games in hand. That said, they did beat Championship side Bristol City and then Premier League Sunderland to get this far, so they are absolutely here on merit, and it has been an impressive run.
The timing is key. These games will be played on Easter weekend - anytime from the 3rd until the 6th of April. A few days later will be the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, which Chelsea will hopefully be part of.
So to have a League One side at home days before a potential quarter-final game, and a week before a Premier League game at home to Manchester City, is absolutely ideal.
As mentioned earlier, Vale have quite a few games in hand in League One - four games fewer played than some teams. Well, it is about to get even crazier for them. In the EFL (English Football League), two games are scheduled for Easter weekend - on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
So, the Valiants have not one, but two games postponed for this tie. Jon Brady's side still have 14 league games plus this tie with Chelsea to play in the next two months. Pretty crazy schedule for them.
The rest of the draw is: Southampton vs Arsenal, Manchester City vs Liverpool, and West Ham United or Brentford vs Leeds United. It's very useful for Chelsea to get rid of one of City or Liverpool.
So, to recap; Chelsea vs Port Vale on Easter weekend in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. A great tie for Chelsea, and also for Vale themselves.