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Lincoln City vs Chelsea: Carabao Cup preview, team news

Originally posted on Absolute Chelsea on SI
By Matt Debono | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 6:12 PM ET

Chelsea begin their 2025/26 Carabao Cup campaign against League One side Lincoln City on Tuesday night.

Enzo Maresca's side head to Lincolnshire to face the in-form Imps, who are currently third having lost just one of their opening nine league fixtures (W5, D3).

Meanwhile, Chelsea are looking to end a run of back-to-back defeats against Bayern Munich and Manchester United to claim their first win in four matches in all competitions.

Maresca could be without Cole Palmer, who was forced off against Manchester United due to a groin problem. Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia and Liam Delap remain unavailable.

Several academy stars are set to be included in the squad for the trip to Lincolnshire, Maresca confirmed, while Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro have been confirmed to be carrying knocks.

"We have some players with small problems from already a long time, like Moi, like Joao, that they are trying to manage a little bit themselves," said Maresca. "But then the rest, they are okay."

Maresca knows Chelsea could avoid a shock upset if they are complacent on Tuesday night, adding: "These are the games that worry me most, because you can slip very easily in these kind of games. Football is full of these kind of games and I am very worried about that."

Here are all of the details ahead of the Carabao Cup tie between Lincoln City and Chelsea.