Chelsea vs Blackburn: Blues seek Carabao Cup progress against Championship strugglers – kick-off time, team news and how to follow
Chelsea welcome Blackburn Rovers to Stamford Bridge this week for a big Carabao Cup clash.
The Blues have struggled in the Premier League this year, winning just three games.
Mauricio Pochettino's men have performed well in the Carabao Cup and will be through to the quarter-finals with a win here.
And with Manchester City, Tottenham and one of Manchester United and Newcastle out, this represents a good chance for Chelsea to win a trophy.
But Blackburn will see this an opportunity to pile more misery on Pochettino and move a step closer to Wembley.
The former Premier League champions are stranded in mid-table in the Championship, so could put out a strong team and really go for this.
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Chelsea vs Blackburn: Head to head record and form
In the cup, the Blues scraped past AFC Wimbledon before turning in an impressive display to beat Brighton 1-0.
But, overall, their form is patchy at best.
Chelsea have won two of their last seven league matches, failing to score in four of those.
Meanwhile, Blackburn have been free scoring in this competition, smashing in 17 goals across three games, including an 8-0 win over Harrogate Town.
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But their league form is very much up and down, Rovers have won or lost the last 12 Championship matches.
And after losing four in a row, they have won three of the last four.
This will be the first time these two have played each other since 2012, with the Blues winning the last four meetings.
- Chelsea wins: 49
- Draws: 27
- Blackburn wins: 36
- Chelsea have faced Blackburn Rovers three times previously in the League Cup, eliminating them twice (1997-98 and 2006-07) and going out once (2009-10). Indeed, the Blues went on to win the trophy in the two previous campaigns they knocked Rovers out.
- Blackburn Rovers are looking to reach the League Cup quarter-final for the first time since 2011-12. They have scored 17 goals in three games this season – only Chelsea in 1960-61 (18) have ever scored more goals from rounds one to three in a season in League Cup history.
- No player has been involved in more League Cup goals this season than Blackburn’s Andrew Moran (2 goals, 3 assists), who both scored twice and assisted twice in their 5-2 win over Cardiff in the third round. Moran is averaging a goal or assist every 31 minutes in the competition this season.
Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers: Team news
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Disasi, Badisahile, Cucurella, Ugochukwu, Fernendez, Gallagher, Palmer, Sterling, Jackson
Substitutes: Petrovic, Colwill, Gusto, Maatsen, Caicedo, Madueke, Matos, Castledine, Washington
Blackburn: Wahlstedt, Brittain, Carter, Hill, Pickering, A. Wharton, Travis, Garrett, Markanday, Moran, Leonard
Substitutes: Hilton, S. Wharton, Gamble, Batty, Rankin-Costello, Tronstad, Sigurdsson, Dolan, Ennis
- Blackburn are winless in their last 15 games against Chelsea in all competitions (D3 L12), although one of those draws – 3-3 in December 2009 – saw Rovers eliminate the Blues on penalties in a League Cup quarter-final.
- Chelsea have progressed from their last 14 League Cup ties against sides from a lower division, winning all 14 games and scoring 51 goals in the process. The last lower division side to knock them out was Burnley in 2008-09, doing so on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers: What has been said?
Despite the slow start, Pochettino still has full faith in the project.
He said: "Always it's about trying to create something new, to build a project like we're building, we always have to work really hard.
"But, of course, the circumstances we have are not helping.
"[It's hard] to go as fast as we want. The process is up and down and we're disappointed when we don't win, of course, because the competition is there and we want to be higher."
Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers: Date and how to follow
This Carabao Cup fourth round clash will take place on Wednesday, November 1.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for 7:45pm.
Unfortunately, this game hasn't been selected for TV broadcast.
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Highlights will be shown on ITV 1 at 12:40am on Thursday, November 2.
talkSPORT will have updates from west London throughout the evening and marvelbet369.com will have all the reaction.
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