Chelsea face Blackburn in the Carabao Cup last 16 tonight, with a place in the quarter-finals on offer.
This competition has provided some much-needed respite at home for Mauricio Pochettino's struggling side so far this season, with fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon and Brighton both seen off- just -in previous rounds.
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Chelsea's form at Stamford Bridge remains dismal in the Premier League, however, now standing at just one win in 13 - over newly-promoted Luton - after they were bested by west London rivals Brentford once again on Saturday.
Those ongoing struggles and a devilish fixture run that kicks off with a return to old club Tottenham on Monday night has seen the pressure only increase on Pochettino, who is still embroiled in a real struggle to get his attack firing despite the latest hundreds of millions lavished on new players over the summer.
Defeat at home by a Championship side before that tough sequence - that also includes consecutive games against Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Manchester United - kicks off just cannot be an option for Chelsea, lest the boo boys and naysayers seriously ramp up their disquiet.
Blackburn currently sit exactly mid-table in the second tier under Jon Dahl Tomasson, winning three games on the bounce before Saturday's disappointing home loss to Swansea.
Rovers have scored for fun so far in the Carabao Cup, putting five past Cardiff, eight past Harrogate and four past Walsall already in this competition.
Those in the UK hoping to watch live television coverage of Chelsea's first meeting with former Premier League regulars - and champions - Blackburn since 2012 are set to be disappointed though, with the match not available.
Sky Sports have exclusive broadcast rights to the Carabao Cup on these shores and can screen two live games per round as part of their 15-game-per-season agreement with the EFL.
That is normally one fixture on Tuesday and then one on Wednesday, but unusually in this fourth round week, both televised matches are actually taking place on Wednesday.
Sky have chosen not to screen Chelsea vs Blackburn, instead opting for the London derby between West Ham and Arsenal at 7:30pm GMT - which should see Declan Rice return to his former club for the first time - and the repeat of last season's final between Manchester United and Newcastle at 8:15pm.
ITV now have the broadcast rights for Carabao Cup highlights though, with those being screened for the fourth round on ITV4 from 11:30pm on Wednesday night.
You can still follow live coverage of Chelsea vs Blackburn with Standard Sport's match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge!
