Cardiff vs. Chelsea: Head-to-head record and past meetings before EFL Cup quarter-final

The biggest mismatch on paper in this year's EFL Cup quarter-finals, League One leaders Cardiff City and Premier League top-four chasers Chelsea collide in the Welsh capital on Tuesday night.

The Bluebirds are bidding for a first semi-final appearance since finishing as runners-up to Liverpool in 2012, and they have taken down Burnley, Wrexham, Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town to make it this far.

Meanwhile, the Club World Cup champions bested Lincoln City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the earlier rounds, and Enzo Maresca also oversaw a comfortable 2-0 Premier League win over Everton at the weekend.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 45

Cardiff City wins: 15

Draws: 10

Chelsea wins: 20

One year to the day since Neil Warnock's stare down of the officials ? pic.twitter.com/GTk7YrI1nt
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) March 31, 2020

A more even head-to-head than some may expect, Chelsea only boast five more victories than Cardiff City from their previous 45 competitive matches in all tournaments, claiming 20 wins to the Bluebirds' 15.

The Blues' most recent Premier League triumph in March 2019 was clouded in controversy, though, as Neil Warnock's Cardiff took the lead early in the second half, before Cesar Azpilicueta and Ruben Loftus-Cheek turned the tide in the final 10 minutes.

Warnock was left dumbfounded at the decision to allow Azpilicueta's goal to stand - the Spaniard was offside when he headed the ball home - and also took issue with Antonio Rudiger not being sent off, leading to one of the most iconic shots in Premier League history.

Rather than remonstrate with the officials in the manner that many of his counterparts would, Warnock simply stared at Craig Pawson and his linesmen with his hands on his head, an image which went and continues to go viral online.

That agonising 2-1 loss represented Cardiff's fifth straight defeat to Chelsea, who have remarkably won three of their last five contests by a 4-1 scoreline, all of which came at home in 2019, 2013 and 2010.

The Welsh side have to travel all the way back to 1986 for their most recent success in this fixture, conquering the Blues 2-1 in the second round of that year's EFL Cup, but that marks their only win from their last 10 games with the London club.

Cardiff have not triumphed over Chelsea in league action since a 1-0 Second Division success at Stamford Bridge in April 1981, while their last home league win was over six decades ago, in 1963.

The Blues also boast the biggest margin of victory in this battle, crushing Cardiff 6-0 in the Second Division in October 1962, thanks partly to one goal from the legendary Terry Venables.