Cardiff vs Chelsea live: Team news and line-ups from Carabao Cup quarter-final | OneFootball

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'The worst 48 hours!' - Maresca furious with lack of support from fans

Cardiff City host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals this evening looking to keep their spectacular run in the competition going.

The Bluebirds have come through four rounds of the competition so far defeating Swindon Town, Cheltenham, Burnley and Wrexham with two of those victories coming against opponents in leagues above them. The League One leaders, who have won six of their last seven games, will be hoping to spring another shock win on Premier League opposition tonight.

Chelsea, meanwhile, can take one step closer to winning some domestic silverware under boss Enzo Maresca. The Italian has already led the Blues to title wins in the Uefa Conference League and Fifa Club World Cup with this match, against the lowest ranked team in the competition, providing an opportunity to challenge for his first one in England.

Maresca, who recently claimed his was under intense scrutiny from the club, is expected to make plenty of changes to his starting XI with key personnel such as Marc Cucurella going to miss out.

Follow all the updates from the Carabao Cup below:

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Cardiff vs Chelsea live

Team news

The line-ups should be released in the next few minutes, so here's a reminder of the early team news...

For Cardiff, Omair Kellyman is ineligible because he’s on loan from Chelsea and cannot face his parent club. Rubin Colwill will also miss the match as he’s out an ankle injury meaning brother Joel Colwill should return to the front line.

Gabriel Osho and Ollie Tanner will be absentees though the latter is now back in full training after four months out and is on course to be available in the New Year.

Chelsea will be without Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia, Myhaylo Mudryk and Levi Colwill who are all absent through injury. Expect Enzo Maresca to make a heap of changes despite this match being a quarter-final with most of the first choice side - including Reece James and Robert Sanchez - starting on the bench.

Marc Cucurella is suspended due to accumulated yellow cards and Marc Guiu is ineligible having played for Sunderland during his loan spell earlier this year.

Chelsea suffered huge spike in injuries after Club World Cup, new study reveals

Chelsea experienced a significant 44 per cent surge in injuries following their participation in this year’s expanded Club World Cup, new findings revealed on Tuesday.

However, the latest edition of the Men’s European Football Injury Index suggests the newly enlarged tournament has, so far, had a "minimal impact" on overall injury rates across European football.

The decision by Fifa in 2023 to expand its flagship club event from seven to 32 teams faced considerable opposition, with players’ unions voicing concerns over potential physical and mental burnout due to an ever-growing match schedule.

Chris Wilson16 December 2025 17:40