Cardiff v Chelsea: Line-ups, stats and preview

Cardiff v Chelsea preview

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says Cardiff City will not be “intimidated” by Chelsea when the League One leaders attempt to secure a third successive surprise win in this season’s EFL Cup.

Having beaten League Two clubs Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town in the first two rounds, the Bluebirds won 2-1 at Premier League strugglers Burnley and knocked out Championship team Wrexham by the same scoreline to set up a quarter-final with the two-time European champions.

“The anticipation for the game ever since the draw was made has been evident everywhere we’ve been,” said former Manchester City academy boss Barry-Murphy, who joined Cardiff in June.

“Luckily, we’ve tried to detach ourselves from that as much as possible while focusing on the league campaign. Now that it’s here, the game is going to be incredibly exciting for everyone.

“We all have aspirations of testing ourselves against those at the highest level of the game. We’re a very big club with a huge supporter base.

Phenomenal. 💫#CFC | #CHEEVE pic.twitter.com/wDoiH6FJQl

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 14, 2025

“We’ll have to try to give those fans something to feel exhilarated. Every game we’ve played in the competition, we’ve tried to be on the front foot as much as possible and show ourselves in the most positive light.

“It’s what the supporters want to see away and at home. A team of [Chelsea’s] calibre is clearly going to have the ball for spells of the game, and we have to show the different facets of our game to be in the right shape to compete with them.”

Fourth in the Premier League, Chelsea ended a four-match winless run in all competitions by beating Everton 2-0 at home on Saturday before much of the scrutiny fell on Enzo Maresca’s comments that “the last 48 hours [had] been the worst because many people didn’t support us.”

Maresca again refused to elaborate on Monday on the remarks, which were interpreted by many as being aimed internally at the club, and instead called for focus on opponents ranked 40 places below Chelsea in the league.

“They are top of the [table], playing nice football and winning games,” said the Italian, praising Barry-Murphy.

“I know Brian… I was the Under-23 coach [at Man City] and when I left, he took over from me. He came to see us in sessions and games and he’s doing a fantastic job at Cardiff.

“This will be a dangerous game for us and we need to pay attention and be careful. We have the opportunity to achieve something important, which is to reach the semi-finals.”

Cardiff City v Chelsea team news

Rubin Colwill won the player of the round competition for Cardiff’s win at Wrexham but the 23-year-old Wales attacking midfielder is out following ankle surgery, while defender Ronan Kpakio is suspended for two bookings in this season’s competition.

Ollie Tanner has returned to full training after being out for four months with an ankle injury sustained when he hit an advertising hoarding at AFC Wimbledon, but the winger is not expected to play until January.

Gabriel Osho could return to contention following a toe injury the centre-back sustained in the 5-1 home defeat to Wimbledon in the EFL Trophy on December 2.

With the scoreline 2-2, Barry-Murphy made a triple change in Cardiff’s 4-3 home league win over lowly Doncaster Rovers on Saturday, bringing on defenders Dylan Lawlor and Perry Ng and forward Chris Willock for Will Fish, Ronan Kpakio and Isaak Davies.

Cardiff prevailed through a 99th-minute goal by left-back Joel Bagan, and their boss is certain to want to see his side tighten up considerably from that display.

The winner 👊#CityAsOne | @joelbagan pic.twitter.com/N0KWuwalt5

— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) December 14, 2025

Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer scored his first goal since September in the win over Everton, but Maresca said the England forward will be rested as part of a season interrupted by a groin injury.

“We have a number of players who need to be protected,” explained Maresca, adding that Palmer “should be fine” for the league trip to Newcastle on Saturday.

“The target is to protect them and manage them. Cole is one of the players who deserves to be protected right now. In this moment, he’s not available to play two games in three days.”

Dario Essugo is unlikely to be risked as the midfielder recovers from a thigh issue. Defender Levi Colwill (knee), midfielder Romeo Lavia (thigh) and forward Liam Delap (who would have been suspended and has a shoulder issue) are injured.

Moises Caicedo is available after completing a three-match league ban. Winger Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended indefinitely.

Cardiff v Chelsea predicted starting lineups

Cardiff City starting XI: Nathan Trott, Perry Ng, Will Fish, Calum Chambers, Joel Bagan, Cian Ashford, Ryan Wintle, Omari Kellyman, Alex Robertson, Isaak Davies, Yousef Salech

Chelsea starting XI: Filip Jorgensen, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo, Jorrel Hato, Estevao, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Tyrique George

How to watch Cardiff v Chelsea: TV channel, live online stream

Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Ultra.

Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £28 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.

Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.

Streaming is available on a vast variety of devices via the Sky GO app.

Cardiff City v Chelsea stats

• Cardiff have won their last five league matches, scoring at least three goals in four of those games
• Their tally of 32 goals in this season’s third tier is the best by four, while their goal difference is six superior to any other side
• No player has scored more goals in the 2025/26 division than Yousef Salech, who has one more goal and assist combined than any other player in League One and opened his account in this season’s EFL Cup with the first goal of the game against Wrexham
• City have had the most shots on target (32) of any team in this season’s EFL Cup and average the most accurate attempts per 90 minutes of any club in the quarter-finals (8)
• They have lost all five of their meetings with Chelsea – four in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup – since a 2-1 EFL Cup home win in October 1986, when they suffered a last-16 defeat at Shrewsbury Town in their subsequent tie
• Only Crystal Palace (16) have taken more away points in this season’s Premier League than Chelsea (14), whose two EFL Cup wins have come away to Wolves and League One club Lincoln City
• Before their defeat at Newcastle in last season’s fourth round, Chelsea had reach the EFL Cup final in two of the previous three campaigns, losing to Liverpool on both occasions
• Aside from Queens Park Rangers (21.9), Chelsea have the youngest average player age in the 2025/26 EFL Cup (22.3)
• Blues winger Jamie Gittens and Cardiff’s Rubin Colwill are among the 15 players to have assisted twice during the first four rounds, with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Tom Watson – whose side lost to Arsenal in round four – the only player to have set up three goals
• Only Liverpool (10), Manchester City (8) and Manchester United (6) have won the EFL Cup more times than Chelsea (5)

Cardiff v Chelsea prediction

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