Chelsea’s astronomical chances of eliminating Manchester City in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup third rounds have been revealed

Many Chelsea fans were in disbelief on Monday night after learning their club had drawn Man City again in their first round of cup competition this season.

Chelsea and City both enter the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in the third round and have remarkably drawn themselves to the Etihad twice for 2022/23.

First, in August there was the Carabao Cup third round draw.

As there are 32 teams at this stage of the competition, Chelsea had 31 options of potential opponents to draw (they obviously can’t draw themselves) – so it was a 1 in 31 chance that they would get City.

The odds of it being an away game are obviously 1 in 2, so those odds need to be doubled to 1 of 62.

Then came the FA Cup third round draw on Monday night.

As there are 64 teams at this stage of the competition, Chelsea had 63 options of potential opponents to draw – so this time it was a 1 in 63 chance that they got City,

Again, the odds of it being an away game are obviously 1 in 2, so those odds need to be doubled to 1 of 126.

Then, if you combine the two, the odds become truly astronomical.

The odds of Chelsea winning Man City in the Carabao Cup third round (1 in 62) times the odds of Chelsea winning Man City in the FA Cup third round (1 in 126) is 1 of 7812.

Blues fans will understandably feel badly beaten after receiving arguably the toughest draw possible twice in a row.

The Carabao Cup match was played on November 9 and saw the Blues fall at the first hurdle, despite a spirited first-half effort from Lewis Hall.

Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at the Etihad thanks to goals from Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez.

Then they host City in a midweek Premier League game on January 5 at Stamford Bridge, before traveling to the Etihad again for the FA Cup tie a few days later.

The teams will meet for the fourth time in the Premier League on May 20, also at the Etihad.

And there’s a chance they could play twice more this season if they both continue their progress in the Champions League and draw each other in this competition as well.

Chelsea fans will no doubt be fed up with the sight of City if that happens… and that’s if they aren’t already.