Enzo Maresca may have lost the plot a bit in his dealings with the media in the last couple press conferences, talking about how it was the worst 48 hours of his Chelsea life last week due to lack of “support”, then refusing to elaborate on any part of that cryptic messaging when asked about it again. Support from the board? The fans? The media? He only specifically denied speculation about the fans, even if that’s where most of the criticism has actually come for him.
But, all that is a bit of a sideshow anyway. What matters is what happens on the pitch, and there we need to start improving our results. Saturday’s win over Everton was a good start, ending the four-match winless slide. Now we have a great chance to make two in two, taking on League One-leaders Cardiff City in the quarterfinals of the League Cup. The Bluebirds are the only lower-league team left in the competition, so we should have no excuses not to advance.
Date / Time: Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 20.00 GMT; 3pm EST; 1:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Referee: Tony Harrington; no VAR
Forecast: Cold and calm
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); none (USA); none (India); SuperSport MaXimo 2 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Paramount+ (USA); FanCode (India); DStv Now (NGA)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 23: Omari Kellyman of Cardiff City celebrates following the team’s victory in the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Burnley and Cardiff City at Turf Moor on September 23, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images) Getty Images
Cardiff City team news: Cardiff finished rock bottom of the Championship last season, dropping back down to the third division for the first time in over two decades. But it looks like they won’t be staying down there for too long, currently holding a four-point lead at the top of the table, having won five in a row.
Among the players making an impact has been Chelsea loanee Omari Kellyman, a key player in their league-best attack now that he’s healthy. We have apparently rejected the request to let the 20-year-old play against us tonight (unlike in the Premier League, where that is not allowed by rule, in the Cups it’s up to the parent club).
An even bigger miss will be midfielder Rubin Colwill, who picked up a serious ankle injury recently. Defender Gabriel Osho is also out, while goalkeeper Jak Alnwick has been dealing with a long-term hamstring problem.
Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy, who succeeded Enzo Maresca as Manchester City U21 boss back in 2021, will face his former colleague for the first time.
COBHAM, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 15: Enzo Maresca, manager of Chelsea during a press conference at Chelsea Training Ground on December 15, 2025 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea team news: Barry-Murphy had worked with Roméo Lavia and Liam Delap at City, and took Robert Sánchez on loan at Rochdale, but ironically, none of the three are likely to be involved in this one, with the first two injured and Sánchez likely making way for a rare Filip Jörgensen appearance in goal. Cole Palmer, another ex-City youth prospect, will likely be rested as well, having just come back from his own injury. (And no, we don’t even talk about Raheem Sterling.)
A Colwill of our own, Levi (no relation) is also out, as is Dário Essugo still, after suffering a setback in his rehab a couple weeks ago. Perhaps the new year will bring better luck for him.
Chelsea’s fixture list looks quite daunting over the extended holiday period, with massive games in both the Premier League and the Champions League. This game is certainly not on that level, but it is just as important to practice the winning habit, and get into the final four of the League Cup.
Previously: We’ve played Cardiff City only rarely in the last half century — five times, to be exact since 1961 — doing the double over them both times that they were in the Premier League, in 2013-14 and 2018-19, and beating them in the fifth round of the FA Cup in 2010 (before going on to win that trophy). Our last visit to this stadium featured orange socks, an angry Neil Warnock, and a last-minute winner from Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
