5-1 - Nottingham Forest (h), 2017/18, Round Three

Antonio Conte rested several regular starters for our Carabao Cup opener against Nottingham Forest in September 2017 but the Blues saw off the Championship side in ruthless fashion in what was our 10th biggest win in the competition. Kenedy volleyed in the opener after 13 minutes before the Belgian duo of Michy Batshuyi and Charly Musonda made it 3-0 at half-time. Batshuayi scored two more after the interval to complete his only Chelsea hat-trick while Forest got a consolation in stoppage time to bring a bit of cheer to the visiting fans.

5-0 – Walsall (a), 1990/91, Round Two first leg

Two seasons after our memorable 7-0 win at Walsall in the Second Division in 1988/89, we returned to face them in September 1990 for our opening match of the League Cup with the teams separated by three division following our promotion to the top flight and successive relegations for the Saddlers. It proved a mismatch again with a brace by Andy Townsend and goals by Kevin Wilson, Kevin McAallister and Kerry Dixon giving us a five-goal advantage in a tie which we won 9-1 on aggregate.

5-0 – Arsenal (a), 1998/99, Round Four

After defeating Arsenal in an emotional semi-final en route to lifting the League Cup in 1998, we met the Gunners again the following season in what turned out to be a derby demolition for the Blues. Chelsea had not won at Highbury for eight years but Arsene Wenger’s decision to rest some of his regulars backfired as they were cut apart by Gianluca Vialli’s side. After Frank Leboeuf had opened the scoring with a first-half penalty, the Italian player-manager and Gustavo Poyet each scored twice after the interval to seal our biggest-ever away win over the north Londoners.

6-1 – Middlesbrough (h), 2023/24, Semi-Final second leg

The ruthless demolition of Middlesbrough at the Bridge this week ranks as our seventh biggest win in League Cup history. After squandering several opportunities in the disappointing 1-0 loss at the Riverside Stadium a fortnight earlier, Mauricio Pochettino’s side turned on the style in front of the Chelsea faithful to record our biggest win so far under the Argentinian. It is just the second time a team had netted six goals in a League Cup semi-final second leg after Aston Villa’s 6-4 win over Blackburn Rovers in 2010.

6-0 – Bolton Wanderers (a), 1971/72, Round Four replay

After holding Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, Third Division side Bolton may have fancied their chances of pulling off an upset when they hosted the replay at Burnden Park. However, the Blues were on fire in the rematch with Tommy Baldwin bagging a hat-trick, John Hollins scoring twice and Charlie Cooke getting our other goal in a 6-0 rout which fired us towards an appearance in the 1972 final.

6-0 – Wolves (h), 2012/13, Round Three

Relegated to the Championship in 2012, Wolves returned to Stamford Bridge in the League Cup early the following season, only to be blown away early by Chelsea, who raced into a three-goal lead inside the opening 17 minutes through Gary Cahill, Ryan Bertrand and Juan Mata. A penalty by Oriel Romeu and further goals by Fernando Torres and Victor Moses after the interval sealed a one-sided win against Black Country side who would suffer a second successive relegation that season.

6-0 – Barnsley (h), 2020/21, Round Three

Playing his first senior competitive match at the Bridge, former Chelsea Academy goalkeeper Bradley Collins had an evening to forget when we hosted Barnsley at an empty Stamford Bridge four years ago during the post-Covid era. Tammy Abraham opened the scoring against his former Academy team-mate, Kai Havertz notched a hat-trick and Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud added to the woes of the Tykes in the most recent of our 6-0 wins in the League Cup.

7-1 – Millwall (a), 1960/61, Round One

Our very first game in the inaugural League Cup in October 1960 provided what remains our joint-second biggest win in the competition. The Blues ran riot at the Den with Jimmy Greaves, in his last season as a Chelsea player, scoring twice and Peter Sillett also notching a brace. Johnny Brooks, Bobby Evans and Peter Brabrook also netted against the Lions as Ted Drake’s side recorded our biggest ever win over the south London side.

7-1 – Grimsby Town (h), 2019/20, Round Three

League Two side Grimsby may have dared to dream when Matthew Green scored 19 minutes into the third-round tie at the Bridge to halve the deficit after Barkley and Batshuayi had given us a 2-0 lead inside the opening seven minutes. However, it was just a brief respite for the Mariners as Pedro converted a penalty to restore our two-goal cushion before the Blues pulled away after the interval with Batshuayi notching his second of the game, Reece James marking his senior Chelsea debut with a goal and Kurt Zouma and Callum Hudson-Odoi also getting on the scoresheet.

7-0 – Doncaster Rovers (a), 1960/61, Round Three

Just over a month after our 7-1 thrashing of Millwall, the Blues scored seven goals again in what remains our biggest ever League Cup victory. Greaves and Sillett were not in the line-up at Belle Vue that evening in November 1960 but Peter’s brother John scored his only Chelsea goal while Brabrook, Frank Blunstone and Bobby Tambling all picked up two each to see off the Fourth Division side in emphatic fashion.