Chelsea face Barrow at Stamford Bridge the EFL Cup in just under an hour, and the teams are in!
We expected full rotation from Enzo Maresca, and we got it. There are a full 11 changes from the team that beat West Ham at the weekend.
In goal, summer signing Filip Jorgensen gets his latest chance to impress as Robert Sanchez’ understudy.
The back four is made up of the returning Malo Gusto on the right (presumably lined up for an hour’s play at most), Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile in the middle, and Renato Veiga on the left.
In midfield, the usual trio are rested, with Cesare Casadei given his first start of the season alongside Kiernan Dewsbury Hall, and Joao Felix just ahead of them. It may be that the opposition are poor enough that this won’t matter, and our quality will see us through, but KDH, Felix Casadei is a midfield that just wouldn’t function in a normal game. All three of them feel more comfortable in the final third than the middle third, which is not really what you want for a “balanced” midfield.
Up front, Christopher Nkunku leads the line, flanked by Mykhailo Mudryk and Pedro Neto.
There are some young academy players on the bench, but not in the first team, disappointingly. Also present among the subs is Ben Chilwell, who is being defrosted from his freeze-out, along with Carney Chukwuemeka is a similar situation.
Seeing Casadei is the real surprise here – he’s very much a forgotten man at this point, far more than the likes of Chukwuemeka or Chilwell, who still regularly get linked with moves away and have plenty of people championing them for more first team action.
Here are the full team line-ups for Chelsea vs Barrow (kick off at 19:45 GMT)
CHELSEA:
Tonight’s XI. 🫡#CFC | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/xaNOwyHT4H
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 24, 2024
