Preview: Cardiff City vs Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

The first EFL Cup semi-finalist will be decided on Tuesday night, when Cardiff City and Chelsea lock horns in the only non-all-Premier League quarter-final.

The Blues head to the Welsh capital on the back of ending a four-match winless run, while their underdog hosts are seeking a fourth victory on the spin, and a momentous one at that.

Match preview

Few are shocked to see Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, but some may be surprised at the manner of the Blues' two victories in the 2025-26 competition so far, only edging out Lincoln City and Wolverhampton Wanderers by one goal.

An unconvincing 2-1 win over the former in the third round preceded a chaotic 4-3 triumph over the Premier League's basement side in round four, where Enzo Maresca's men nearly suffered a catastrophic collapse after going three goals to the good.

Ugly wins are preferable to gutsy defeats in any sporting event, though - especially knockout football - and Chelsea now endeavour to reach the semi-finals of the EFL Cup for the fifth time in the last nine seasons.

The historical omens are promising for the West London giants, who have won each of their last five EFL Cup quarter-final showdowns since being eliminated at this stage by Sunderland in 2013-14, and Maresca's men belatedly regained that winning feeling on Saturday too.

The returning Cole Palmer helped propel the Blues to a 2-0 Premier League success over Everton, although the victory was overshadowed by Maresca's extraordinary press conference, in which he lamented the "worst 48 hours" of his Chelsea career and hit out at a lack of support from unnamed critics.

While Maresca's previous 48 hours were nightmarish, Cardiff counterpart Brian Barry-Murphy has been in dreamland with the Bluebirds, who are bidding to reach the last four of the League Cup for the first time in 13 years.

Not since the 2011-12 campaign - when Cardiff lost on penalties to Liverpool in the final - have the League One side advanced to the semi-finals of this competition, but they have already seen off Premier League opposition to become this year's lowest-ranked quarter-finalists.

After taking down Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town in August, the Bluebirds bested Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor and also overcame Wrexham by the same scoreline in the fourth round, thus making the quarter-finals for just the third time ever.

Having also advanced to the semi-finals of the 1965-66 competition, Cardiff boast a 100% winning record from previous League Cup quarter-finals, and the Welsh outfit are riding the crest of a victorious wave before Tuesday's David vs. Goliath battle too.

Thanks to a pulsating 4-3 victory over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday, Barry-Murphy's side have won each of their last three games in the third tier - as well as six of their last seven in all competitions - to establish a four-point lead at the top of the League One table.

Cardiff's last win over Chelsea coincidentally also came in the League Cup, but that was all the way back in 1986 - since then, the Blues have prevailed in each of their last five meetings, most recently a 2-1 Premier League triumph on the road in 2019.

Cardiff City EFL Cup form:

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

Chelsea EFL Cup form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Team News

Even with a semi-final place at stake, Chelsea boss Maresca should ring the changes in the Welsh capital, and he will be forced into one defensive alteration given that Marc Cucurella is suspended for accumulated bookings.

Jorrel Hato should be a straight swap for his Spanish counterpart, while Filip Jorgensen, Josh Acheampong, Andrey Santos, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and the returning Moises Caicedo - who has served a three-match suspension - are primed for promotion to the first XI too.

Liam Delap (shoulder), Dario Essugo (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping) and Levi Colwill (knee) remain out for the visitors, while Marc Guiu is cup-tied, having represented Sunderland in the EFL Cup during his loan spell.

Guiu is one of two notable ineligible players for Tuesday's quarter-final, as Cardiff will be without Chelsea loanee Omari Kellyman; the Bluebirds asked to have the playmaker available for the match, but the Club World Cup winners rejected the request.

Kellyman's absence is part of a double whammy for Cardiff, as fellow number 10 Rubin Colwill will be out for another couple of months with an ankle injury, so his brother Joel Colwill should return to the final third.

Gabriel Osho (toe) and Ollie Tanner (ankle) will also miss the visit of Chelsea, but the latter is now back in full training after four months out and is on course to be available in the New Year.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Trott; Ng, Fish, Chambers, Bagan; Wintle, Robertson, Turnbull; Ashford, Salech, J. Colwill

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Jorgensen; Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Hato; Caicedo, Santos; Estevao, Buonanotte, Gittens; George

We say: Cardiff City 1-3 Chelsea

Chelsea's second-string players have looked defensively shaky in the EFL Cup, and an in-form Cardiff side with nothing to lose should breach Maresca's backline at least once on home soil.

However, the Blues' effervescent attacking youngsters can fight fire with fire, and Maresca can also call on the big guns if things go pear-shaped, so the Cardiff dream will surely end here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.