For a moment I thought we could add a brand new name to the list of teams Chelsea have played in their history, which currently stands at around 200 (202 by any count). Unfortunately, we have already played Barrow AFC once before, and that was exactly once before, in the FA Cup third round in 1948. Chelsea won 5-0 in front of 44,336 at Stamford Bridge – still the largest crowd to ever watch a Barrow AFC game. (And that's not going to change, as the Bridge's capacity is now somewhat lower due to TV camera positions and security and accessibility measures and the like.)

A similar result is not out of the question this time, should the game go as expected. Of course, strange things can and do happen in cup matches. We only have to remember Third Division side Bradford AFC, who came from 2-0 down to beat José Mourinho's title-winning Chelsea 4-2 at the Bridge in 2015.

Barrow are one league lower than Bradford but top of the table, on a par with Wrexham, who we drew 2-2 with in pre-season this summer.

Basically, you have to take this seriously, especially on the pitch.

Date/Time: Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 7:45 p.m. BST; 2:45 p.m. EDT; 12:15 a.m. IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Oliver Langford (on the field) – no VAR in this round of the competition
Forecast: Pleasantly mild

On TV: Sky Sports+ (UK); none (USA); none (India); Starttimes Sports Arena (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Paramount+ (USA); FanCode (India); StarTimes

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

News from the Chelsea team: This game is not only meant to be a serious affair, but also a good opportunity to rest and change, but also to make an impression and perhaps give a few minutes to a few young players (although there is also an EFL Trophy game taking place at the same time, also against a fourth division side, Bromley FC).

Malo Gusto is fit to play again, although I hope it's very unlikely he'll even see the field in this game, let alone start. Reece James and Roméo Lavia remain out, with the latter also very close to being included.

Enzo Maresca has already confirmed that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will start and that players such as Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George will be in the squad. More surprisingly, he will also include Carney Chukwuemeka and Ben Chilwell in the team, with the latter's re-emergence from the deep dungeons of Cobham a particularly welcome (and to some extent perhaps even surprising) development.

Barrow AFC team news: The Bluebirds were founded in 1901, four years before Chelsea, but have never played higher than the third tier and spent most of the last half-century in amateur football. They made it back to the Football League in 2020 by winning the National League on a points-per-game basis after the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As mentioned above, they currently top the fourth tier, having won five of seven matches so far and losing just once in the league. They also beat Championship side Derby County on penalties in the last round of that competition. Striker Gerard Garner and defender Theo Vassell, a product of the Stoke City Academy, are the team's top scorers with three goals each. The manager is former Spurs and Birmingham City midfielder Stephen Clemence.

Previously: Our last game in this competition was last year's final, which we lost to Liverpool in extra time, so that's still annoying. Thankfully the 3-0 win at the weekend was the opposite of annoying.