Chelsea begin their EFL Cup campaign with a third round tie against Barrow at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The Blues lost out to Liverpool in last season’s final so they will look to go one better this time around in their pursuit of what would be a sixth league cup success.
Enzo Maresca’s men made it three wins from five in the Premier League on Saturday by sweeping aside West Ham 3-0 at the London Stadium, helping our man Kevin Mac cash in along the way.
Chelsea now turn their attention to domestic cup duty this midweek when they entertain English League Two pacesetters Barrow.
Stephen Clemence’s side moved to the summit of the fourth tier standings with a 2-0 win over Newport on Saturday.
The high-flying Bluebirds set up their glamour trip to Stamford Bridge thanks to a penalty shootout success against Derby County in round two.
How the bookies view it: A breeze for the Blues
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea are massive odds-on favourites on Tuesday night, with a home win trading at just 1/28 on Betano.
Barrow are as big as 25/1 (Betano) to pull off what would be a huge shock at Stamford Bridge, while the 90 minute draw is an unfancied 15/2 (Betano).
Head to head: First meeting since the 1940’s
Tuesday night’s clash will see Chelsea and Barrow come up against each other for the first time in 76 years.
The one and only previous meeting was an FA Cup tie way back in January 1948, with Chelsea running out 5-0 winners. A repeat of that scoreline here is on offer at 13/2 (Betano).
Players to watch: Nkunku to notch?
Christopher Nkunku is expected to get a run out from the off against Barrow on Tuesday night. The French forward fired in the winner against Bournemouth recently but he is just 4/6 (Bet 365) to make the net bulge this midweek. An alternative option that will boost the odds up slightly is backing Chelsea to win alongside Nkunku to notch at 7/10 on Bet 365.
Theo Vassell has scored in each of his last two appearances for Barrow and the Bluebirds centre-half is as big as 25/1 to bag another goal at Stamford Bridge.
Predicted line-ups
Blues boss Maresca will likely rotate his abundance of resources this midweek, with the aforementioned Nkunku, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto all expected to be in the starting XI.
Barrow chief Clemence could stick with the same set of players that claimed top honours against Newport last time out.
Chelsea: Jorgensen; Disasi, Tosin, Badiashile, Veiga; Lavia, Dewsbury-Hall; Felix, Neto, Mudryk; Nkunku
Barrow: Farman; Feely, Vassell, Stokes, Jackson; Campbell, Foley; Spence, Newby, Kouyate; Garner
Anything else catch the eye?
Barrow will view this game as a free hit and backing the visitors to earn two or more corners could be worthy of interest at 10/11 on Bet 365.
Clemence’s crew have averaged north of five corners per-game away from home in League Two this season, so a couple of flag-kicks could be within range in west London.
It’s also worth pointing out that Chelsea have conceded two or more corners in each of their seven outings across all competitions this season so far.
This EFL Cup match between Chelsea and Barrow will be played on Sep 24, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Barrow prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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