Chelsea Struggle to Scoreless Draw vs. Norwich City in 2018 FA Cup

Chelsea were held to a 0-0 stalemate in their trip to Carrow Road on Saturday and will have to replay their FA Cup third-round meeting against Norwich City.

The Championship hosts managed to cage the Premier League champions despite failing to even register a shot on target, per WhoScored.com.

The fourth-round draw will take place on Monday, but the Blues will have to play at least another 90 minutes against the Canaries at Stamford Bridge before finding out whether they'll be involved.

David Luiz made his first Chelsea appearance since November and looked far from his best in a Blues XI that also included fringe players such as Michy Batshuayi, Kenedy, Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta.

The widespread changes appeared to take their toll on the visitors, who could not find the end product to beat young Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn despite a vast advantage in possession (60 percent) and efforts on goal (seven).

After more than six weeks out, it would have been tough to expect a masterclass of Luiz, although ESPN FC's Liam Twomey illustrated precisely why he's lost his place to Andreas Christensen of late.

For Chelsea's early faltering, such as losing possession in the middle of the park, Norwich were due some praise for a high-energy beginning, setting a tempo that would be difficult to maintain for 90 minutes.

Josh Murphy and Alex Pritchard looked like the two most likely Norwich attackers to threaten Willy Caballero's goal, and some mistakes from the visitors looked liable to offer up opportunities.

Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard told of the travelling support's frustrations with how their team were being equalled approaching half-time.

An improved display after the restart established Chelsea's dominance, with the visitors much more capable in possession for longer periods.

However, Batshuayi struggled to get a foothold up front, and wingers Willian and Pedro looked the bigger threat.

Conte inevitably took Batshuayi off for Alvaro Morata with only 15 minutes remaining, but the Spaniard was unable to replicate his Carabao Cup as a substitute against Bournemouth in December.

The Canaries deserved credit for battening down the hatches at Carrow Road, but a poor Chelsea performance will take some of the gloss away from their stalemate.

Grabbing a bore draw against the Premier League title-defenders is no small feat, but the measure of their task in the replay at Stamford Bridge will be far greater.