Cardiff City set for major EFL Cup boost ahead of Chelsea FC - it involves Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Cole Palmer is set to miss Chelsea's trip to Cardiff on Tuesday night for the League Cup Quarter-final

Cardiff City are set for a major boost on Tuesday night when they host Chelsea in the League Cup quarter-final, with playmaking sensation Cole Palmer poised to be rested by Blues boss Enzo Maresca following his recent return from injury.

After suffering relegation from the second tier last season, Cardiff City are having a strong campaign in League One.

The Bluebirds sit at the top of the league after 19 games, four points clear of 2nd place Bradford City, with their last-gasp winner to seal an emphatic 4-3 home victory over Doncaster Rovers at the weekend solidifying their place at the summit.

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has got the Bluebirds chirping in the third tier, but the club has also put together a strong run in the League Cup, having earned a place in the quarter-final, where they will host Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Ahead of their tie, it will come as nothing but good news for Barry-Murphy and the club that Chelsea will almost certainly be without Cole Palmer for this fixture, with Blues head coach Enzo Maresca choosing to rest the attacking-midfielder.

Palmer has played less than 300 league minutes this season, having spent a large portion of the season out with an injury, with Maresca keen to ease the Englishman back into the side without risking his fitness.

Cardiff City receive major Chelsea, EFL Cup boost following the absence of Cole Palmer

The absence of Palmer in the Welsh capital on Tuesday night will be music to many Cardiff fans' ears, yet they still face a huge uphill task to progress to the next round.

Despite the Englishman missing this fixture, Chelsea still have an array of attacking talent at their disposal, with the likes of Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens, Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho all able to start in attack for them.

The Bluebirds, for what its worth, will be without the presence of a mercurial attacking midfielder of their own in vice-captain Rubin Colwill, who is set for an extensive spell on the sidelines after going down in City's 3-1 win at Northampton Town last month, while in-form loanee Omari Kellyman will also be unavailable due to rules prohibiting players from playing against their parent clubs.

Cardiff are by far the huge outsiders in the rest of the competition, with all seven other remaining teams in playing their league football in the top flight.

The Bluebirds defeated each of Swindon Town, Cheltenham Town, Burnley, and Wrexham to earn a place in the competition's latter stages, and will be relishing the opportunity to potentially cause a huge upset.

The absence of Palmer will go some way in aiding those ambitions, yet even with that, the mammoth task remains in front of Cardiff.

Cardiff City and Brian Barry-Murphy must be at their very best to stand a chance of a League Cup upset against Chelsea

If the Welsh outfit are to stand any chance of claiming victory on Tuesday night, they need to be at nothing less than their very best to obtain anything from the game.

Cardiff have won each of their last five league games, with only a 5-1 home defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Trophy hindering their good form.

Chelsea travel to the Welsh capital on the back of a 2-0 home win over Everton, in which Palmer scored, but prior to that, they were winless in four.

Both sides have shown signs of vulnerability, yet you would do well to find anyone who isn't an overly optimistic Cardiff fan who doesn't think Chelsea will be victorious in this one.

Nevertheless, there have been many cup upsets across the years, with Chelsea themselves having fallen to a 4-2 home defeat to Bradford City in the FA Cup nearly 11 years ago whilst Jose Mourinho was in charge.

It will be a huge ask for Cardiff