Chelsea’s Carabao Cup campaign begins away at League One outfit Lincoln City on Tuesday night, with the Blues entering the cup tie off the back of a Premier League defeat.
Their Old Trafford woes persisted in some style on Saturday evening, as they played the majority of their 2–1 defeat with ten men after Robert Sánchez’s early dismissal. Casemiro’s sending off later rendered the contest a ten-on-ten affair, but Chelsea were, by then, 2–0 down and could only score what would prove to be a late consolation through Trevoh Chalobah.
The Blues are thus winless in three in all competitions, but are fancied to return to winning ways in midweek.
Lincoln are taking on the five-time winners of this competition for the first time in well over 100 years, and they set-up this lucrative tie by virtue of away victories over Harrogate Town and Burton Albion.
Michael Skubala’s side have enjoyed a fine start to the 2025–26 campaign, with just one defeat from their opening nine league outings leaving them third in the table. A stunning victory here would see them progress into the fourth round of this competition for just the third time in their history.
Here is’s guide to Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie.
