chelsea live

Chelsea                          vs                    wolves

Capital One Cup third round

• Venue: Stamford Bridge
• Date: Tuesday, 25 September

Coverage: Watch highlights on The League Cup Show on BBC One on Wednesday 26 September 

TEAM NEWS

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo is expected to make wholesale changes to the side that beat Stoke on Saturday.

Cesar Azpilicueta, Victor Moses, Marko Marin and Lucas Piazon may all make their first starts for the club.
Wolves boss Stale Solbakken will rotate his squad, with Bjorn Sigurdarson expected to start after scoring his first goal for the club on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey remains out until the end of October with a knee injury.

MATCH PREVIEW

After reaching three League Cup finals in four years in the mid-2000s Chelsea's recent record in the League Cup has been surprisingly poor, having failed to make it to the quarter-final stage for the last four seasons following defeats to Burnley, Blackburn, Liverpool and Newcastle.

The FA Cup and Champions League holders will be keen to rectify that record and begin with a tie against Wolves, which looks a much harder match now than it did when the draw was made at the end of August.

After an iffy start to life back in the Championship under new boss Stale Solbakken, three wins in six days have suddenly propelled Wolves up to fifth in the table.
Their new players have started to integrate nicely, and hopes will be high of a swift return to the top flight. However, recent visits to Chelsea have been far from fruitful and they shipped 14 goals in four Premier League visits there.
Solbakken, though, managed Copenhagen when they drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge in their Champions League last 16 second-leg encounter in March 2011.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• This is the first time Chelsea and Wolves have met in the League Cup.
• But it is the 104th meeting overall between the two sides. Chelsea have won 39 times, Wolves 38 and there have been 26 draws.
• Wolves last won at Stamford Bridge in a Division One clash in March 1979.

Chelsea

• They have won the competition in 1965, 1998, 2005 and 2007.
• They were last knocked out of the League Cup by Championship opposition in the fourth round in November 2008, when Burnley held them to a 1-1 draw at the Bridge, and won on penalties.
• In the 23 years since regaining their top-flight status, Chelsea have been knocked out of the League Cup by lower league opposition on eight occasions.

Wolves

• Wanderers have won the League Cup twice in 1974 and 1980.
• They have not knocked out a top-flight club since beating Coventry, in the fourth round in November 1995.
• Wolves have exited the competition to Manchester United (twice) and Manchester City in the last three seasons.