Chelsea, of Ecuadorian Moisés Caicedo, plays on Wednesday, November 1st. They face Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup round of 16, a game where no mistakes will be allowed.
Last Saturday, the team led by coach Mauricio Pochettino lost 0-2 to Brentford at Stamford Bridge, for the 12th round of the Premier League. Their supporters booed the team on its way out, as they have only earned 16 points in 12 matches and are in 11th place.
"We are going to try to play with our best team. Some players may need rest because, after Saturday's match, we cannot take risks," said coach Pochettino in the pre-match press conference.
With the poor start in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup becomes a very important target for Chelsea and coach Pochettino, as if they win the tournament, they will qualify for the Europa Conference League qualifying round, a consolation prize as they are not playing the Champions League this season.
Blackburn Rovers, their opponent on Wednesday, is a team from the Second Division, currently in 12th place. Victory is paramount to stay in the competition. "All players have to be ready. We are going to try to take it very seriously, as always, because it is a competition we can go through," said Pochettino.
Argentinian Enzo Fernández will return to the starting lineup, he didn't play last weekend due to the birth of his second child.
Moisés Caicedo is also ready for the match. In the previous game last Saturday, he was substituted in the 80th minute, a decision that surprised him.
Chelsea advanced to the quarter-finals after eliminating AFC Wimbledon with a 2-1 victory with goals from Madueke and Enzo Fernández. They had previously eliminated Brighton with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Nicolas Jackson.