At this stage of last season’s competition Chelsea were edging past a Derby side coached by Frank Lampard and Jody Morris, who had defeated tonight’s visitors Manchester United in the previous round.

English football’s two most successful clubs over the past decade-and-a-half are drawn to square up in the League Cup for the fifth occasion, the most recent being on Hallowe’en night 2012, a fourth-round tie that was full of tricks and treats.

The Blues, last season’s runners-up, are aiming to reach the League Cup quarter-final stage for the 23rd time in the club’s history, and the third consecutive season, on English football’s shortest route to silverware.

Chelsea’s new away record

The clocks were turned back last weekend and history repeated itself for Burnley as Chelsea knocked four past them for a second season running on the same weekend.

It gave the Blues’ a seventh successive victory in all competitions for the first time since April/May 2017. An eighth win on the spin tonight would take us back to November/December 2016 under Antonio Conte, in the season we last won the league.

Saturday’s success also set a new record of scoring three or more goals in four successive away victories for the Blues. In that run, Frank Lampard’s team have racked up 16 goals - at Norwich (three), Wolves (five), Southampton (four) and now Burnley (four), conceding seven.

Of course the sequence started after the first game of the season at Old Trafford, a 0-4 scoreline even Man United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer considered unjust. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but there is no time like the present.

Man United on the road

‘If you want to win it [the Carabao Cup], you have to beat the best,’ Solskjaer observed after the round four draw matched these old foes for the fifth time in the competition. ‘It slots nicely into a couple of weeks with lots of travelling.’ While Chelsea will journey to Watford on Saturday evening, Man Utd are at Bournemouth for a lunchtime kick-off the same day.

Their recent 1-1 draw with Liverpool was the Mancunians’ only game on home soil since the start of October, and by early November the Red Devils will have played four consecutive games out of a suitcase, with this the third.

Their 3-1 win at Norwich was a Sunday afternoon kick-off, handing Chelsea an extra day’s rest and preparation for this round four tie.

Chelsea changes

Both teams are likely to be different from the weekend 11s, though the age-old refrain ‘Play the youth’ will have less resonance at Stamford Bridge this season, since many are already starring for the team.

As well as possible opportunities for impressive Academy graduates Billy Gilmour (a central midfielder), Marc Guehi (centre-back) and Reece James (right-back), the cup could provide vital minutes for seniors such as Willy Caballero, Olivier Giroud and Emerson.

Upfront for Man United, Solskjaer may be more loathe to break up a winning formula he had sought since the end of September. With Anthony Martial back from injury, summer-signing Daniel James on the right and Marcus Rashford the left, United have a front three that can press high up the field or counter-attack with pace – as was the case against Chelsea in August.

With midfielder Paul Pogba ruled out, there have been questions where the creativity will come from and defensive organisation has been worked upon. To help end Liverpool’s winning run recently Man United starting with a more cautious back three/five.

The Man U coach has hinted at fielding a young side tonight, with James Garner and Brandon Williams having some involvement, and fellow teenagers Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood among other options.

Champions League catch-up

Next week’s visitors Ajax have had their Eredivisie match at PEC Zwolle, originally set for Saturday 2 November, brought forward to Friday to allow them more time to prepare for Tuesday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.

When Drake’s Ducklings beat Busby’s Babes

Our former assistant club secretary Alan Bennett has been in touch to congratulate Frank Lampard for how well he is accommodating young home-grown players, but gently points out he has some way to go to match Ted Drake’s fledgling selection for the Division One visit of Manchester United on 30 August 1961.

As Alan recalls, no fewer than nine of the Chelsea 11 had come through the Juniors scheme: Peter Bonetti, Allan Harris, Terry Venables, Mel Scott, Peter Brabrook, David Cliss, Barry Bridges, Bobby Tambling and Mike Harrison. The exceptions were John Mortimore (signed from amateur club, Woking) and John Sillett, who arrived from Southampton.

Homegrown players (Shay Brennan, Nobby Stiles, Bill Foulkes, Dennis Viollet, Mark Pearson, Bobby Charlton) were also the majority in Sir Matt Busby’s Man Utd team, while the remaining five (Harry Gregg, Noel Cantwell, Maurice Setters, Albert Quixall and David Herd) had been recruited elsewhere.

The result was a comfortable 2-0 win for the Blues, thanks to ‘Ducklings’ Bridges and Tambling, watched by 42,248 spectators and refereed by future Sports Minister Denis Howell.

The Red Devils’ fear of the penalty

Man United have been awarded six penalties this season and scored only two of them. Unusually, Solskjaer’s side benefited from two penalties awarded when VAR David Coote overruled referee Stuart Attwell at Carrow Road. Both were missed, but the Red Devils still beat hosts Norwich 3-1. Across all competitions, excluding shoot-outs, Rashford has missed two of the five he has taken, Martial two of eight, and Pogba four of 13.

United’s past two Carabao Cup matches have been decided on penalty kicks. Prior to seeing off Rochdale 6-5 in round three a month ago, they were beaten 10-9 last season at the same stage by Frank Lampard’s Derby.

Chelsea’s last shoot-out in this competition was in last year’s final against Manchester City, which was lost 3-4.

Coming up

Saturday’s Premier League hosts Watford were in Carabao Cup action last night, losing 2-0 at Everton with a side that showed eight changes from their goalless draw with Bournemouth.

Chelsea Women will also entertain Manchester United in the coming weeks. Emma Hayes’s WSL table-toppers take on the recently re-formed Mancunians at Kingsmeadow. Tickets are £9, £1 concessions.

Chelsea’s Under-18s continue their U18 Premier League Cup campaign today, with Wolves, currently fourth in the northern section of the U18 Premier League, coming to Cobham for a 2pm kick-off.

Happy 50th Harry J, farewell David Balfe

Harry J All-Stars’ evergreen rocksteady tune ‘Liquidator’ entered the UK charts for the first time 50 years ago last week. It had already been played regularly at Stamford Bridge as Pete Owen of ‘Pete ’n’ Dave’s Pre-Match Spin’ had received a ‘white label’ pre-release copy from Trojan.

The Jamaican classic – keyboard player Winston Wright’s instrumental take on Tony Scott’s ‘What Am I To Do’ for music producer Harry Johnson – has been played at virtually every match at the Bridge ever since.

On a sadder note, the death of David Balfe was reported this week. Under his musical alias Rod McQueen, Balfe co-wrote (with Daniel Boone) the immortal Chelsea anthem, ‘Blue Is The Colour’. Everyone at Chelsea sends condolences to David’s family and friends.

Carabao Cup regulations

Apart from the final, there is no extra-time in the Carabao Cup again this season. If the game ends all square after 90 minutes, the match will be settled by a penalty shoot-out.

Cautions count only in the competition they are received. Two yellow cards accrued in this competition results in a one-match suspension. The cut-off point is the quarter-finals, so no player can miss the final through cumulative yellows.

Neither of the matches selected for live TV was played on Tuesday as two of the participants – Man United and Arsenal – are competing in the Europa League and were therefore in action on Sunday.

For those teams making it through, the draw for the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup will take place on Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 show from 8.45am tomorrow.

Carabao Cup fourth round results and fixtures

TuesdayBurton Albion 1 Leicester 3Crawley 1 Colchester 3Everton 2 Watford 0Manchester City 3 Southampton 1Oxford 1 Sunderland 1 (4-2 on pens)

WednesdayAston Villa v Wolves 7.45pmChelsea v Manchester United 8.05pm (Sky Sports)Liverpool v Arsenal 7.30pm (Sky Sports)