Cardiff vs Chelsea preview, prediction, team news, and head-to-head

Cardiff will come into this match with an almost impossible task of getting a win in this fixture, something they have not done for over 60 years. This match will be much easier for Chelsea, considering their squad quality and form.

Cardiff are enjoying an incredible season, winning their last five league matches to keep them at the top of the English Football League One table. The Bluebirds got a last-minute goal to seal a dramatic 4-3 victory against Doncaster on Saturday.

On the continental level, the home team got past Wrexham in a 2-1 victory in the fourth round of the EFL. However, facing a team from a far superior league will be a real test for them.

As for Chelsea, they have experienced some ups and downs throughout the season, both domestically and on the global stage. However, the Blues will come into this match following a comfortable 2-0 win against Everton.

There is no excuse for the Blue if they fail to advance to the semifinal of this competition, especially as they have the easiest opponents on paper. Enzo Maresca's men will also come into this fixture full of confidence.

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Chelsea had won every single match they had played against Cardiff in the modern age (W5). In fact, the last time the home team recorded a win against the Blues was over 60 years ago.

In the last five meetings between these two sides, both teams had scored, and Chelsea had scored at least 2 goals in the last seven matches. Their last meeting was in 2019 in a Premier League match that saw Chelsea win 2-1.

Cardiff City will welcome their visitors without some players in key positions, including Gabriel Osho at the defence, Rubin Colwill at the midfield, and Ollie Tanner at the attack.

Barry-Murphy will certainly stick with Yousef Salech for attacking threats as the team will rely on him to cause upsets to the Chelsea defenders.

For Chelsea, we expect Maresca to do a heavy rotation to keep some of his key players refreshed for the weekend EPL match. Players like Liam Delap, Romeo Lavia, and Levi Colwill are already sidelined due to injuries.

Cole Palmer could start again after his return from injury. The English player started the match against Everton and even got on the score sheet with his early strike for the Blues.

Cardiff (4-2-3-1): Trott; Ng, Fish, Chambers, Bagan; Robertson, Wintle; Robinson, Colwill, Willock; Salech

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Hato, Fofana, T. Adarabioyo; Santos, Fernandez; Estevao, Gittens, Garnacho; Pedro

Although the Chelsea manager may likely heavily rotate his squad, the Blues still remain the favourites for major bookies, including Livescorebet.

Just like previous meetings, expect this match to be full of exciting moments, including a couple of goals. Chelsea's shaky defence will make it difficult for the visitors to keep a clean sheet.

Prediction: Cardiff 1-3 Chelsea

• Bet on Chelsea to win

• Over 2.5 goals

• Over 7.5 corners