Southend/Chelsea, 8.10pm, ITV1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Rather than boring you with obvious reasons why Chelsea stand a decent chance of beating League One opposition, our friends at chickendinner chose to go against the grain and argue what others might consider a lost cause. Southend are available at 15/1 on Betfair to win at home to Luiz Felipe Scolari’s out-of-form side and here are six reasons why they stand a decent chance:

1. Southend masterminded a win over a Manchester United team including Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in the Carling Cup two seasons ago and were robbed by an offside Jermain Defoe extra-time goal against Spurs in the next round.

2. Chelsea have won just one of their last six games and were knocked out the League Cup by Burnley in November.

3. The Blues aren’t used to playing away in the FA Cup and have won just two of their six games on the road in the competition, losing three.

4. Top-scorer Nicolas Anelka looks likely to start. The Frenchman has scored just one in his last six and has fired blanks in his last three away games.

5. The Shrimpers should be fresh as their weekend game against Crewe was postponed (meaning they are still unbeaten in 2009!) whilst Chelsea were left chasing shadows at Old Trafford on Sunday.

6. If Steve Tilson’s can hold out they would fancy their chances with spot kicks – Chelsea have lost their last five penalty shootouts.

Research for this article was provided by Danny Harris