Chelsea will enter the Carabao Cup fray this evening as they take on Barrow at Stamford Bridge in a third-round tie, live on talkSPORT 2.
The Blues have enjoyed a strong start to the season under new boss Enzo Maresca, sitting fifth in the Premier League off the back of a 3-0 win over West Ham.
Chelsea have started the season well, scoring plenty of goalsGetty
Maresca is getting his ideas across and the talent-filled squad is starting to gel, with three wins from five games in the top-flight so far.
Cup football is up next though, and they welcome League Two side Barrow, who will be eyeing a huge giant-killing.
This will be the first time the two teams have met since 1947 and Chelsea came away 5-0 winners over 75 years ago.
Chelsea vs Barrow: Team news
Chelsea are going to welcome Malo Gusto back to the squad this week after he missed the last three weeks of action.
It gives Maresca a right-back option while on the left, Ben Chilwell is set to be in the squad too after being exiled in pre-season.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is expected to start in midfield as the Blues make changes.
Reece James and Romeo Lavia will remain out but minutes could be handed to goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, Joao Felix and Mykhaylo Mudryk.
As for Barrow, Elliot Newby and Gerard Garner are going to provide some attacking threat.
However, a lot of pressure will be on the defensive players for the League Two side as they look to compete against some of the world’s best.
Gusto is set to return after a couple of weeks out of actionGetty
Chelsea have progressed from their last six League Cup ties against sides from the fourth tier since losing 4-3 on aggregate to Scarborough in the 1989-90 second round. At Stamford Bridge, the Blues have never lost a League Cup match against fourth-tier opposition (W11 D2).
The only previous meeting between Chelsea and Barrow in any competition was in the 1947-48 FA Cup third round – the Blues won 5-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Barrow: What has been said?
Maresca is not expecting an easy ride against Barrow despite the clear gap in quality between the two sides.
The Chelsea boss said: “It is dangerous because football is full of these kinds of games.
“In this moment, it is the worst game for us. It’s better to have a different type of game.”
On the Carabao Cup as a whole, he continued: “Because of the last two years, we cannot allow ourselves to set targets.
“We need to go game by game and see where we arrive and then fight for that. I don’t see any competition better than the other one.
“The Premier League is the main competition, the one where you try to do your best always.”
Maresca knows Barrow won’t lie down and admit defeatGetty
Barrow will be the 70th different team Chelse have faced in the League Cup. The last eight sides to face the Blues in the competition for the first time have all lost – the last side to win their first meeting with Chelsea was Wimbledon in December 1998.
Barrow are making their first appearance in the League Cup third round since the 1967-68 season, when they lost 3-1 to Sheffield Wednesday. They have never reached the fourth round in the competition.
Chelsea vs Barrow: talkSPORT coverage
This Carabao Cup third-round clash will take place on Tuesday, September 24.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for 7:45pm.
talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage of all the action.
Commentary will come from Ian Danter and former Republic of Ireland midfielder Matt Holland.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
