Enzo Maresca's nightmare Chelsea scenario unfolds ahead of seven-game season-defining 21 days
Latest Chelsea news and gossip as the Carabao Cup fourth-round draw presents a busy seven-game schedule for the Blues
by Mark Wakefield · football.londonChelsea potentially have a defining run of fixtures ahead of them after the Carabao Cup draw.
Tuesday night saw the Blues claim a 5-0 win over League Two outfit Barrow in the third round of the competition. Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick with Pedro Neto also on the score sheet supported by an own goal from Paul Farman at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea discovered 24 hours later that they will face either AFC Wimbledon or Newcastle United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Newcastle will host Wimbledon in the third-round tie next Tuesday after the game was rescheduled due to the League One club have a waterlogged pitch.
With all respect to League Two outfit Wimbledon, it would be a huge surprise if the Blues do not end up playing Newcastle in the next round. Whoever Chelsea face, the fixture will present a challenge to an already potentially defining schedule for Enzo Maresca's team.
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The Blues will have seven matches between the October and November international breaks. Four of those games will be in the Premier League, two in the Europa Conference League and the one other coming against Wimbledon or Newcastle in the Carabao Cuo.
Starting with an away trip to Liverpool on October 20, Chelsea will also have Premier League fixtures against Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal before the November international break.
Chelsea will also have Europa Conference League matches against Panathinaikos and Noah in that run, which could define where the Blues finish in the final standings in Europe.
The run of seven games all take place within the space of three weeks, meaning the fixtures will be coming thick and fast and the Chelsea boss may well have to make use of the strength of depth within his squad in order to get through it. It may seem like a nightmare run, but the run of games could go a long way towards dictating how Chelsea's season plays out.
Maresca and Co. have enjoyed an impressive start in the Premier League with 10 points from their first five fixtures. The victory over West Ham at the weekend means that Chelsea are fifth in the table and three points behind leaders Manchester City going into this weekend's clash against Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
Before that run starting with an away trip to Liverpool begins next month, Chelsea still have other important fixtures to play. After facing Brighton this weekend, the Blues will host Gent in their Europa Conference League opener before taking on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League next weekend.
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