Chelsea are bidding to reach their third semi-final under Enzo Maresca when they visit Cardiff in the last eight of the Carabao Cup tonight.
Cardiff are the only non-Premier League team left in the competition but they are top of League One so are not to be taken lightly.
Maresca will, however, use the occasion as a chance to rest key men ahead of Saturday’s testing game at Newcastle, with Cole Palmer left out for the trip to the Cardiff City Stadium.
Here, Standard Sport looks at three Chelsea players who set for a rare chance to impress…
Facundo Buonanotte
Opportunities have been increasingly hard to come by for Facundo Buonanotte.
The 20-year-old deadline-day loan signing from Brighton has not been named in a Premier League squad since October and last appeared as a 70th-minute substitute in the 2-2 Champions League draw with Qarabag in early November.
Palmer’s return from injury further limits his potential game time, but the Englishman’s absence tonight is likely to present the chance for Buonanotte to feature.
His first Chelsea goal arrived when he netted in September’s 2-1 win at Lincoln, also in the Carabao Cup.
Jorrel Hato
Despite Chelsea splashing out £37million for Jorrel Hato in the summer, he has been used sparingly this season.
Eight appearances in all competitions will be fewer than the 19-year-old was hoping for, but he is poised to earn a ninth tonight.
Hato is a centre-back by trade but has played a decent proportion of his minutes for Chelsea at left-back, where he is now the only natural replacement for Marc Cucurella since Ben Chilwell left to join the Blues’ sister club Strasbourg.
Hato said in late October that he feels he is beginning to find his feet at Stamford Bridge but has played just twice since then and not in the last month, so he needs the opportunity tonight.
Tyrique George
Thanks in part to a goal in both of Chelsea’s previous matches in the Carabao Cup games this season, Tyrique George has already matched his tally of three goals from last season.
The academy graduate is a versatile option up front, where he is nominally a winger but has filled in as a striker at times.
He almost joined Fulham on deadline day but that transfer fell through, leaving him at Chelsea to fight for first-team opportunities.
The 19-year-old will be champing at the bit for a chance to run at the Cardiff defence, having played just twice since October and been left out of Chelsea’s squad for each of their last seven league games.
