Knockout competitions have built their legacy on tales of underdogs triumphing against the odds to eliminate teams from higher up the footballing pyramid and nowhere is the tradition of the cup upset more respected than in England.

We will need to be wary of such a situation when we host League Two side Wimbledon at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup this evening, as our opponents will no doubt make the short trip across west London eager for the chance to write a new chapter in the history of famous cup upsets.

Mauricio Pochettino is well aware of the fearless motivation it can give you to be on the other side of the dynamic at a smaller club from experiencing it earlier in his career, both as a player and a manager. He believes that while the Dons will still feel pressure at the Bridge, it is a different kind of pressure, resulting in a passionate mentality which we will need to match if we are to avoid becoming victims to a cup upset.

‘Even at Espanyol and Southampton we felt the pressure and felt how important cup games were. You always feel the pressure to win. We felt that with Espanyol, when we won the cup when I was a player in 2000 and 2006. The first time we played against Real Madrid in the semi-final over two games and we beat them, then beat Atletico Madrid in the final. After that, we played Deportivo in the semi-final and we won the final against Zaragoza.

‘That was always our way to prepare when we were in a lower level team, when you go to play a Real Madrid, I remember is to be emotional. It’s mental, you cannot be scared about how you play, you need to be brave, things like that are really important because you only need to have one opportunity, and you need to score and then you need to defend and you need some luck also to beat the big club. But the key is in your mind.

‘I think it’s about mentality, it’s about when you play these types of competitions, and even more here in England, the level because of the motivation, the desire and everything is so high in a team that is lower than you. That is why in games like this it’s about matching the energy, matching the desire, matching the motivation. If not you can struggle because it will be difficult.’

Focusing more specifically on tonight’s game between Chelsea and Wimbledon, Pochettino confirmed that the Blues will not be at full strength, having already stated that some of our Academy players could be handed their debuts this evening.

However, he stressed that was down to injuries and fitness among the senior players, and not any reflection of his desire to triumph in this season’s Carabao Cup, while he firmly believes his young team will be more than capable of securing the win as long as they show the correct attitude.

‘When we were in Espanyol, or Southampton, or Tottenham, that was always our method, our natural mentality is always how to win. We are very ambitious people,’ he added.

‘The circumstances at the moment, we cannot field our best starting 11, for different reasons, but we have the players that we need to beat Wimbledon tonight. With the players who are going to be involved in the squad, there is no excuse not to be better than Wimbledon and win the game and be in the next round of the Carabao Cup.’