Shrewsbury v Chelsea: Mega odds on away clean sheet

Petr Cech appears to be Chelsea's Capital One Cup goalkeeper this season

The Chelsea clean sheet appeals in their Capital One Cup fourth-round tie at Shrewsbury, says Michael Lintorn...

Shrewsbury v Chelsea
Tuesday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports 1

Match Odds: Shrewsbury 13.5n/a, Chelsea 1.282/7, The Draw 6.611/2

Chelsea tend to take every trophy-winning opportunity seriously when Jose Mourinho is in charge, including the Capital One Cup, as evidenced by the fact that they went the distance twice in the three completed seasons of his first reign and made it to the quarter-finals last term.

However, circumstances dictate that they will have to freshen up their line-up considerably with this trip to Shrewsbury occurring just two days after their key Premier League clash with Man United.

This Sunday-Tuesday scheduling happens far too regularly to undermine a competition which has been so entertaining in recent campaigns, but Chelsea overcame an even more fiendish fixture pile-up this time last year, visiting Arsenal two days on from facing Man City, so there won't be any panic.

On that occasion, 10 changes to the team - only Gary Cahill retained his place - couldn't stop them from winning away to a top-four companion, so there is no reason to doubt them, especially when Petr Cech, Kurt Zouma, Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah are fresh to call in.

Shrewsbury got this far by defeating three clubs from higher divisions 1-0 - Blackpool, Leicester and Norwich - yet Chelsea have suffered a mere three 90-minute losses in 37 Capital One Cup ties, last exiting away to a lower-league side in 1996 (Bolton).

Chelsea Clean Sheet

As was the case last year, Chelsea have began to rediscover their defensive solidity following a slightly porous start, with the transformation happening even earlier this time.

The Blues have only conceded twice in six games, both times in the 90th minute on their Premier League travels - the latest instance at Man United occurring after being reduced to 10 men - and they have shut out three of their past four Capital One Cup hosts (Swansea, Swindon and Arsenal).

Correct Score

Mourinho's men scored exactly two goals in three of their previous four Capital One Cup encounters, as well as two of their last three Premier League matches, and would be greedy to expect more than that against a Shrewsbury side who haven't leaked more than twice in 90 minutes in 2014/15.

Chelsea haven't notched more than twice in any of their most recent six outings in the competition, despite opposing Swindon away and Bolton at home in that period.

Best Bet: Back Chelsea to keep a clean sheet @ 2.01/1
Other Recommended Bet: Back Chelsea to win 2-0 @ 7.613/2

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