Getty Frank Lampard, Manager of Chelsea, fist bumps Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea hosts Barnsley as it begins its Carabao Cup campaign at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
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In the United States, the match (2:45 p.m. ET) won’t be on TV anywhere, but anyone in the US can watch Chelsea vs Barnsley live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ will have live coverage of every Carabao Cup match in 20-21, as well as FA Cup, EFL, Bundesliga, Serie A, DFL Supercup, Bundesliga 2, MLS and other live sports. It also includes every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Chelsea vs Barnsley live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Chelsea vs Barnsley Preview
Chelsea will look to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 Premier League loss to Liverpool as they host Barnsley in a Carabao Cup matchup.
The Carabao Cup is a tournament that features clubs from the EFL and Premier League in a straight, knock-out format across seven rounds. Premier League clubs enter the competition in Round 2 with clubs that have qualified for the Champions League or Europa League joining in Round 3. The final is at Wembley Stadium.
While Chelsea’s focus is firmly on finding success in the Premier League, the team is using the match against Barnsley to round into shape and integrate some new pieces. Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell are in line to make their Chelsea debuts against Barnsley.
“We’re in the position that this game for me is of course about getting through to the next round, it always would be,” Chelsea manager Frank Lampard told the team’s official site. “But I have huge eyes on the fitness of the team because we’re not fit now, which means our pressing game and the speed of our game, it will be very difficult to attain the levels that we want.”
Lampard said a variety of obstacles — including some brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic — have made thing difficult for his squad in the early-going. He’s trying not to be so harsh with his judgement, right now at least.
“We’re in a very difficult position. I don’t want to compare us to all the other teams, but we had pretty much as short a break as you can have because of our Champions League game against Bayern Munich, which took us two weeks beyond the regular season, and then we came back and played when everyone else started, unlike a few other teams in the Premier League,” he said. “We also made some new signings, we also had double figures of quarantines at the start of pre-season, so we’re clearly in preseason mode and that’s why we mustn’t get too judgmental. I’m not being too judgmental of the squad at this point because we are short on fitness for individuals in the team.”
Barnsley advanced to face Chelsea by beating Nottingham 1-0 in their opener. Cauley Woodrow delivered the goal early in the first half to advance.
“This is my first time at Stamford Bridge and against an opponent on this level. It is a special feeling and challenge, but I like challenges at this level and we have to be brave on the field,” Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber said. “It is clear that Chelsea are a big, big favorite. But never give up — that is always our goal and we believe we can make a good performance and in the end, we will see with the result.”