We have made frequent appearances in the closing stages of the competition now known as the Carabao Cup in recent years, but that hasn’t always been the case, as we have enjoyed more success as the competition itself has evolved.

To whet your appetite for Sunday's showdown at Wembley, here is a look back at all eight of the previous League Cup finals involving the Blues…

Chelsea 3-2 (agg) Leicester City – 1965

The League Cup was only in its fifth year when Chelsea first reached the final. Back in those early days it was still a voluntary competition, with some of the larger clubs opting out, and a two-legged final meant no trip to Wembley, with European qualification for the winners still two years away. None of that mattered for Tommy Docherty’s hungry young Blues, though.

In a thrilling first leg at Stamford Bridge we twice took the lead, through Bobby Tambling and a Terry Venables penalty, despite playing much of the game with 10 men following an injury to Allan Young in the days before substitutes. We were pegged back on both occasions, before left-back Eddie McCreadie justified his selection as an emergency striker by embarking on a 60-yard dribble to seal the win with an incredible solo goal in the 81st minute.

A slightly less enthralling 0-0 draw followed at Filbert Street three weeks later, as the Blues held on to our lead defiantly to secure the club’s first-ever triumph in a cup competition and leave the players celebrating by drinking from the silver tankards the winners were presented instead of medals.

Chelsea 1-2 Stoke City – 1972

This final 50 years ago gave us the Chelsea song 'Blue is the Colour', but unfortunately not a trophy. Three of the younger members of the team which beat Leicester – Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris and John Hollins – were also in the side which faced Stoke seven years later, by which time the final had become a one-off match at Wembley.

In the meantime they had picked up more silverware in the 1970 FA Cup and 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup, but our attempt to earn a trophy in a third consecutive season ended in disappointment as legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who had been on the losing side with Leicester, returned to get his revenge with a series of saves in an ill-tempered and physical final.

Stoke took an early lead in a goal-mouth scramble following a long throw – some things never change – and briefly we looked on top after Peter Osgood equalised on the stroke of half-time, but couldn’t find a second goal and it was the Potters who struck to snatch the victory.

Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough – 1998

It was over 25 years before Chelsea would have the chance to erase that disappointment by lifting the League Cup trophy at Wembley for the first time. We had beaten the same opponents 2-0 in the previous season’s FA Cup final, but this time there was a different manager in the Chelsea dug-out, after Gianluca Vialli had replaced Ruud Gullit between the two legs of the semi-final.

For a long time this looked like it would be a very different final, with future Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer refusing to be beaten, meaning the 90 minutes ended goalless. It didn’t take long for us to grab the lead in extra time, though, as defender Frank Sinclair charged forward to head in Dennis Wise’s tempting cross before Roberto Di Matteo, who had scored in the first minute of the FA Cup win over Boro, made it two in the 107th of this game.

Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool – 2005

Our only previous meeting with Liverpool in the final brought the first trophy of the Roman Abramovich era at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but we had to do it the hard way with another extra-time victory, which paved the way for our first league title in 50 years later that season.

Things didn’t start well when John Arne Riise smashed a volley past Petr Cech inside the first minute, but we were given a late lifeline when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard headed Paulo Ferreira’s free-kick into his own net to send the game to extra time.

Jose Mourinho missed the additional 30 minutes after being sent off for his goal celebrations, but there was only one team in it from then on. Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman both ruthlessly punished defensive errors to give us a two-goal lead and Antonio Nunez’s late goal was merely a consolation for the Reds.

Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal – 2007

We had to come back from conceding an early goal in Cardiff again two years later, although this time there was no need for extra time in a game that was slightly overshadowed by John Terry being knocked unconscious and taken to hospital after receiving a boot to the face and three players, including Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi, being sent off in an injury-time melee.

A 17-year-old Theo Walcott somehow evaded our defence on the edge of the box to give Arsenal the advantage, but their lead lasted just eight minutes before Drogba latched onto Michael Ballack’s pass and drilled us level, despite a hint of an offside.

We came into the game more and more, with Frank Lampard being denied a fantastic long-range goal by the crossbar, but Drogba showed he has always been the man for the big occasions by giving us the win 10 minutes from time with a brilliant header from Arjen Robben’s cross.

Chelsea 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur – 2008

There were no such celebrations the next year, when we tasted defeat in the League Cup final for the first time in 36 years at the hands of London rivals Tottenham on the competition’s return to the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium.

Spurs had already hit the woodwork and squandered several chances when Drogba fired us into the lead with a 30-yard free-kick into the bottom corner, but Wayne Bridge was harshly punished for handling as the ball ricocheted around in the box, allowing Dimitar Berbatov to score from the spot and send the game to extra time.

It went downhill from there, as Cech’s attempt to punch a free-kick clear bounced off Jonathan Woodgate’s face and into our net, and our luck was summed up when the referee blew the final whistle with Salomon Kalou through on goal, although he hit the post anyway.

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur – 2015

It took seven years for our chance to get revenge against Tottenham in a League Cup final, but when it arrived we took it gleefully in a tactical and controlled performance that hinged around the leadership of John Terry and decision to utilise centre-back Kurt Zouma as a makeshift midfielder due to Nemanja Matic’s suspension.

It worked a treat as we weathered Spurs' early attacking threat before Terry opened the scoring himself, smashing in his first-ever cup final goal when Tottenham failed to clear a free-kick on the stroke of half-time.

We never looked like surrendering that lead after the break and when a nice move involving Willian and Cesc Fabregas ended with Diego Costa’s shot from a tight angle going in via a deflection off Kyle Walker, the 2-0 margin of victory felt like the least we deserved.

Chelsea 0-0 (3-4 pens) Manchester City – 2019

Unfortunately, our last appearance in a League Cup final didn’t end happily, as we were beaten in a penalty shoot-out following a match of little excitement. Eden Hazard tried his best as a false nine but was outnumbered and isolated, while at the other end Sergio Aguero found the net for Manchester City but had it correctly ruled out for offside.

That meant it went all the way to penalties, following a few minutes of confusion about whether Kepa Arrizabalaga would stay on the pitch for the shoot-out. It wasn’t to be our day, though, despite Kepa denying Leroy Sane, as two of our most reliable players from the spot couldn’t find the net - David Luiz hitting the post and Jorginho’s effort being saved by Ederson.