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Chelsea: Three things to look for in EFL Cup Fourth Round

By Travis Tyler

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea in action with Adam Armstrong of Southampton during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge on October 02, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea in action with Adam Armstrong of Southampton during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge on October 02, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 02: Ben Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel the manager / head coach of Chelsea at full time of the Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge on October 2, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 02: Ben Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel the manager / head coach of Chelsea at full time of the Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge on October 2, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images) /

It has not even been a full month since Chelsea played Southampton last, but the EFL Cup shall provide. Fresh off their huge win against Norwich, the Blues will likely rotate some as they pursue the first possible trophy of the season. What things should fans look for in this one?

1. Just how seriously will Thomas Tuchel take this competition?

The fourth round of the EFL Cup is where things tend to get interesting. Chelsea’s already had a tricky fixture against Aston Villa, so they should be well versed for whatever Southampton throws at them. Against Villa, it is fair to say that Tuchel rotated pretty heavily, going so far as to try out some 4-3-3/4-4-2 shape (more on that shortly). Tuchel tends to use cups for rotation and his side needs it.

That being said, Jose Mourinho’s old notion of the EFL Cup’s importance does have some merit. Pep Guardiola, though he’ll surely never say it, also tends to use the EFL Cup as a spring board to an eventual title. The Blues already have the biggest trophy of all under Tuchel, but an EFL Cup in late February/early March will only put more wind into his team’s sales.

Of course, there is another matter that will likely come up: Club World Cup. A date still hasn’t been set, but it is almost guaranteed that EFL Cup will be the competition to make way. That happened to Liverpool when they had to leave an academy side for EFL Cup while their first team was away for Club World Cup. That’s not guaranteed to be the case but it is certainly a possibility. If Tuchel does take EFL Cup seriously, it is entirely likely the Blues will be stuck between a rock and a hard place later.

Those are all way down the road though. One thing is for sure: Southampton will take the match seriously even if Chelsea doesn’t. The Blues have plenty in reserve to get past Southampton but they will likely prove a tricky test like Aston Villa last round.

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