Lampard taking Carabao Cup seriously

Frank Lampard says Chelsea will not be taking their Carabao Cup fourth-round clash with Manchester United “lightly”. The Blues will head into Wednesday’s game at Stamford Bridge in impressive form as they have won seven matches on the spin across all competitions, with Saturday’s 4-2 victory at Burnley consolidating their place in the top four of the Premier League standings.
Indeed, Chelsea have come a long way since losing 4-0 to United in Lampard’s first match in charge back in August, with the contrasting fortunes of the two teams since that result being underlined as the Blues currently sit seven points clear of the Red Devils.
With the Premier League and Champions League likely to be Chelsea’s main priorities this season, the Carabao Cup could be seen as a distraction.
However, Lampard is targeting success on all fronts even if he does opt to rotate his line-up in midweek. “I won’t take this game lightly even if I make changes,” Lampard said. “[The 4-0 defeat to United] feels a million miles away but I’m not disregarding it. They hurt us four times in a game we played particularly well in.”
Chelsea reached the final of the Carabao Cup last season – narrowly losing on penalties to Manchester City after the two teams played out a 0-0 draw at Wembley – and punters may choose to use their free bet to back the Blues to go one better this term.
Lampard is targeting a return to Wembley for his young side as he bids to claim his first piece of silverware as a manager.
When asked if the Carabao Cup was an ideal trophy to target, Lampard said: “We’ll target them all. It comes earliest in the year. “It would [be a big achievement]. A day at Wembley should never be taken lightly. But not just for the young boys – we’ll give it our all.”