Chelsea will be looking to progress to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup when they welcome fellow Premier League side Southampton to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The Blues will enter the contest off the back of a 7-0 win over Norwich City in the league on Saturday, while Southampton played out a 2-2 draw with Burnley on the same afternoon.
Match preview
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As disappointing as Norwich were at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Chelsea were simply irresistible, with Thomas Tuchel's side scoring seven unanswered goals against the Canaries to ensure that they would end the latest set of Premier League fixtures top of the table.
The Blues have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2021-22 league season, winning seven, drawing one and losing one of their nine matches to collect 22 points, while they have scored 23 goals and conceded just three.
It would be fair to say that the EFL Cup is fourth on the list of priorities this season behind the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, but Tuchel will be desperate to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition, with their spot in the round of 16 confirmed via a penalty-shootout success over Aston Villa.
Chelsea have won the League Cup on five previous occasions; their last success in the competition came in 2015, when they overcame Tottenham Hotspur in the final courtesy of a 2-0 victory.
The Blues are currently on a run of four straight wins in all competitions and will fancy their chances of beating Southampton, Newcastle United, Malmo and Burnley in their next four encounters before travelling to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on November 20.
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Southampton, meanwhile, will enter the EFL Cup affair off the back of a 2-2 draw with Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon; Valentino Livramento and Armando Broja were on the scoresheet for the Saints, but the Clarets secured a point courtesy of a double from Maxwel Cornet.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have now picked up four points from their last two Premier League matches and will travel to Stamford Bridge for the second time this month, suffering a 3-1 loss to the Blues when they made the trip in the league on October 2.
Southampton have had to play twice to reach the last-16 stage of this season's EFL Cup, putting eight unanswered goals past Newport County at the end of August before beating Sheffield United on penalties following a 2-2 draw on September 21.
The Saints have never won the League Cup, but they have reached the final on two previous occasions, the last of which was in 2017, when they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
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Team News
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Chelsea will again be without the services of Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic for Tuesday's contest, while N'Golo Kante is unlikely to be risked due to a muscular problem.
Blues boss Tuchel will make wholesale changes to the side that started against Norwich in the Premier League, with Malang Sarr, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcos Alonso, Hakim Ziyech, Saul Niguez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek among those expected to come into the side.
Kai Havertz could again be given the nod through the middle, while Reece James, Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Trevor Chalobah might retain their spots in the team.
As for Southampton, Jack Stephens will again be missing due to a knee injury, while James Ward-Prowse remains unavailable for selection due to suspension.
Head coach Hasenhuttl will make changes to the side that took to the field against Burnley on Saturday, with Che Adams, Lyanco, Yan Valery and Nathan Tella in line for starts.
Stuart Armstrong appeared off the bench against Sean Dyche's side and could also be in line for a spot in the XI, while Fraser Forster is likely to come into the side between the sticks.
Broja picked up a foot injury during the draw with Burnley but will miss out against Chelsea regardless of his fitness, as the striker cannot play against his parent club.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; James, Chalobah, Sarr, Alonso; Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Saul; Ziyech, Havertz, Hudson-Odoi
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Forster; Valery, Lyanco, Salisu, Perraud; Diallo, Romeu; Tella, Armstrong, Djenepo; Adams
We say: Chelsea 2-0 Southampton
Both teams will make wholesale changes from their league matches at the weekend, and we are expecting Chelsea's second string to be too strong for Southampton, who simply cannot call upon the same quality in reserve as their opponents here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea win with a probability of 64.26%. A draw had a probability of 19.4% and a win for Southampton had a probability of 16.37%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.63%) and 1-0 (8.72%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.92%), while for a Southampton win it was 1-2 (4.57%).
