At A Glance
Round Three of the Carabao Cup sees Aston Villa head south to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Some of the club’s exciting young prospects shined in a 6-0 demolition of Barrow in the previous round, with Cameron Archer scoring a hat-trick.
A sterner test is likely to be in store in west London, the scene of Villa’s 3-0 defeat in the Premier League earlier in September.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their first seven games across all competitions this season, winning six of those ties.
Thomas Tuchel’s team enter the tournament in this round, and they head into the game on the back of 3-0 victory away against Tottenham Hotspur.
League Cup Credentials
Both Aston Villa and Chelsea have great pedigree in the League Cup, each lifting the trophy on five occasions.
The Blues’ have enjoyed success in the competition more recently than Villa, last winning the cup in 2015.
The clubs have met only five times in the League Cup, with Villa winning one, drawing one and losing three.
After being defeated by Stoke City in the last-16 last season, Dean Smith’s team will hope to emulate the last Villa side to win the tournament in 1996.
Team News
After a stunning cameo, Leon Bailey limped off in Saturday’s win against Everton. John McGinn also left the field injured in the first half.
Trezeguet, Keinan Davis, Carney Chukwuemeka and Jaden Philogene-Bidace all missed the game against the Toffees through injury.
With a strong squad at their disposal, Chelsea are likely to make changes to the team that beat Tottenham last time out.
The likes of Timo Werner, Saul, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Reece James started that game on the bench and could be given a chance to impress against Villa.
Tuchel says the game will likely be “too close” for Christian Pulisic as he recovers from an ankle injury, while Edouard Mendy missed the win vs Spurs.
Tune In On VillaTV
If you’re not one of the travelling contingent heading to the game, you can keep up with the action via VillaTV.
Tune in to live match commentary of the Round Three tie on the official AVFC app (iOS and Android) or via the match centre on the club's website, click here.
