Chelsea-Wimbledon is a match valid for the second round of the League Cup and is played on Wednesday at 8:45 p.m.: statistics, likely formations and predictions.
What is Chelsea doing in the second round of the League Cup, the one involving exclusively Premier League teams not participating in European cups?
Nothing but a consequence of the last, disastrous season of the Blues, who in the Premier League even finished on the right side of the table despite spending over five hundred million on the market. It has not happened since the 2016-17 edition that the London club – also at that time coming off a disappointing year – had to start playing as early as August in the League Cup. A competition that Chelsea has not won for a full eight years and came close in 2022 by losing the final on penalties to Liverpool. On the Stamford Bridge bench from this year sits Mauricio Pochettino, highly regarded in England because of the excellent job he did at the helm of Tottenham, which he took to the Champions League final in 2019. The Argentine coach has a difficult rebuilding task ahead of him: Chelsea has also spent a lot in this session that is coming to an end but has also sold numerous players. The results, so far, are mixed. In the first two days, the Blues got only one point against Liverpool and West Ham, in which they failed to materialize the amount of play they created; it went much better against newly promoted Luton Town, swept away 3-0 at Stamford Bridge last Friday.
The Blues make their debut with a League Two club
Pochettino and his men’s League Cup journey begins with a home match with Wimbledon – a derby, essentially – a club playing in League Two.
Ogundere of Wimbledon
The Dons – somehow heirs of the defunct Wimbledon FC that moved to Milton Keynes in 2004 – have already played six official matches, five in the league and one in the League Cup, and are still unbeaten (three wins and three draws). In the previous round they eliminated Coventry, a team participating in the cadet league, beaten 2-1 at Plough Lane. Wimbledon only on one occasion (season 2021-22) managed to play in the third round of the League Cup but was immediately eliminated by Arsenal with a clear 3-0.
The Prediction
The infirmary continues to be permanently crowded at Chelsea – as many as 11 are missing – and Pochettino is likely to rest several starters. Opportunity to exploit, then, for the likes of Ugochukwu, Maatsen and Gallagher. Wimbledon has made a great start to its season and will play it straight, knowing they have nothing to lose. There will be no surprises but the overall goals should not be few.
The likely Chelsea-Wimbledon lineups
- CHELSEA (3-4-3): Sanchez; Humphreys, Colwill, Cucurella; Malo Gusto, Ugochukwu, Gallagher, Maatsen; Madueke, Burstow, Moreira.
- WIMBLEDON (4-4-2): Tzanev; Ogundere, Lewis, Johnson, Brown; Tilley, Ball, Pell, McLean; Al-Hamadi, Bugiel.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1