How Chelsea could line up in EFL Cup clash vs Cardiff City (4-2-3-1)

Chelsea take on Cardiff City on Tuesday night with a spot in the EFL Cup last four up for grabs.

The Blues travel to the Welsh capital on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win against Everton over the weekend, courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto.

That win saw Chelsea snap a four-game winless run across all competitions, but their path to the EFL Cup quarter-final has been far from smooth despite facing lesser-calibre opponents.

Enzo Maresca’s side scraped past League One Lincoln City in the third round and needed a long-range belter to edge Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-3 in the previous round.

Chelsea are now set to face another League One team, but they’d be silly to underestimate the threat posed by the third-tier league leaders.

However, when you play knockout football, the brand of football typically goes out the window.

Finding a way to win often matters more than how it looks, so Chelsea will take another scrappy win against Cardiff if it guarantees them a spot in the semi-final.

Fortunately for the Blues, they’ve won their last five EFL Cup quarter finals and are looking to punch their ticket to the semi-final for the fifth time in nine seasons.

How Chelsea could line up

With another tricky fixture against Newcastle United on the horizon, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Maresca name an entirely different XI to face Cardiff.

Filip Jorgensen is poised to return to the XI for the first time since the fourth round against Wolves, with Robert Sanchez handed a much-deserved breather.

Jorrel Hato has struggled to adapt to English football, but he should get a chance to impress at left back.

Josh Acheampong should line up at right back while Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo anchor the defence.

Moises Caicedo is back in contention after serving a three-match suspension, while Andrey Santos should come in for Enzo Fernandez.

Jamie Gittens is poised to start in attack alongside Estevao Willian. Forgotten forward Facundo Buonanotte should come in for Cole Palmer, who has been ruled out of the game.

Tyrique George is in line to make his first start in over a month.