The Cumbrian club was due to host its West Yorkshire rivals at the SO Legal Stadium on Tuesday evening, but the fixture was postponed after a lunchtime inspection during which the pitch was found to be waterlogged.
A statement on the club’s official X – formerly Twitter – account said: “Unfortunately following a pitch inspection at the SO Legal Stadium, tonight’s match against Bradford City has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch.
“We will update fans as soon as possible about the rearrangement of this fixture.”
Barrow currently sit fifth in the table, seven points adrift of the automatic promotion places with five matches to play, but with two games in hand on MK Dons in third.
The Met Office warned of an area of low pressure following on the coat tails of Storm Kathleen, which brought difficult conditions to the UK over the weekend, on Monday.
A yellow weather warning for the west coat of Wales is in place until 3pm on Tuesday, when “a spell of strong winds” will affect the region.
In Scotland, 20-40mm of rainfall is expected in some areas until 6pm on Tuesday, while a few places could see as much as 50-60mm.
Further rainfall is forecast in western Scotland between 9am and 10pm on Wednesday and may cause flooding, with 20-30mm of rain expected in most places and 40-60mm on high ground.
Rovers, managed by former Manchester City and Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton, headed into Saturday's matches fourth in the table, behind third-placed Northampton – in the final automatic promotion place – on goal difference.
Northampton appeared to have done enough to secure a spot in League One as they won 3-1 at Barrow, only for events at the Memorial Stadium to halt their celebrations.
That scoreline at Barrow – unchanged from the 45th minute onwards – meant Rovers needed to win 7-0 against already-relegated Scunthorpe United to pip Northampton on goals scored.
Leading 2-0 at half-time, Aaron Collins and Antony Evans each scored twice against a much-changed Scunthorpe side before Elliot Anderson – on loan from Newcastle – added to his two assists with the decisive seventh five minutes from time.
That goal – the 19-year-old's seventh of a sensational loan spell, to go with six assists – prompted a pitch invasion that brought the game to a standstill.
As Northampton got word of the change in circumstances and chased a fourth goal, succeeding only in having goalkeeper Liam Roberts sent off, Barton and Rovers owner Wael al-Qadi pleaded with fans to stay off the pitch, having been warned the match could be abandoned.
Eventually, play resumed and Rovers held on for their joint-record margin of victory and a scarcely believable promotion to the third tier.
Standing in for the in-form Nicolas Jackson, Nkunku stole the show with two goals in the first half before rounding off his hat-trick in the 75th minute as the much-changed Blues ran riot on Tuesday.
Nkunku opened the floodgates in the eighth minute, with the France international flicking in a second before Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman turned into his own net.
Pedro Neto made it 4-0 straight after the break, tapping home from Mykhailo Mudryk's centre.
Barrow may be top of the pile in England’s fourth tier, but they managed just one shot on target as Nkunku added further gloss before going off with 15 minutes remaining.
While Barrow will reflect on their first EFL Cup third-round appearance since 1967-68, Chelsea will aim to keep up their early season momentum when they take on Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Deja vu
Before this game, the only previous meeting between Chelsea and Barrow in any competition was in the 1947-48 FA Cup third round – the Blues won 5-0 at Stamford Bridge.
History repeated itself on Tuesday, as Chelsea (who mustered 3.0 xG to Barrow's 0.3) made it seven wins from their last seven EFL Cup ties against teams from the fourth tier. Job done in comfortable fashion for Enzo Maresca.
Standing in for the in-form Nicolas Jackson, Nkunku stole the show with two goals in the first half before rounding off his hat-trick in the 75th minute as the much-changed Blues ran riot on Tuesday.
Nkunku opened the floodgates in the eighth minute, with the France international flicking in a second before Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman turned into his own net.
Pedro Neto made it 4-0 straight after the break, tapping home from Mykhailo Mudryk's centre.
Barrow may be top of the pile in England’s fourth tier, but they managed just one shot on target as Nkunku added further gloss before going off with 15 minutes remaining.
While Barrow will reflect on their first EFL Cup third-round appearance since 1967-68, Chelsea will aim to keep up their early season momentum when they take on Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Deja vu
Before this game, the only previous meeting between Chelsea and Barrow in any competition was in the 1947-48 FA Cup third round – the Blues won 5-0 at Stamford Bridge.
History repeated itself on Tuesday, as Chelsea (who mustered 3.0 xG to Barrow's 0.3) made it seven wins from their last seven EFL Cup ties against teams from the fourth tier. Job done in comfortable fashion for Enzo Maresca.
The Cumbrians have never appeared in a Football League play-off but an unbeaten March campaign has bolstered their chances.
Stockton broke the deadlock after 11 minutes with his sixth goal since joining on loan from Burton in the January transfer window.
The former Morecambe goal machine doubled the Bluebirds’ lead in the 22nd minute with a simple tap-in after Dom Telford’s shot following a mazy dribble was stopped on the line.
Barrow looked set for a routine three points but Grimsby kept up the pressure in the second half and saw Kieran Green hit the post with a header.
However, Pete Wild’s side sealed victory after 81 minutes as midfielder Robbie Gotts drilled in a low shot from the edge of the area.
Gotts’ goal was extra insurance as Justin Obikwu fired in after 88 minutes to give the Mariners a consolation.
Barrow’s latest win stretched their unbeaten run to six games – all in March – with four victories and two draws and leaves them fifth in League Two.
Goals from experienced centre-back James Chester and Emile Acquah – his first in the league since October – ended a three-game losing streak.
It was the first game the club have played in 17 days after fixtures against Bradford and Crawley were called off due to waterlogged pitches.
“I think you’ve seen three or four lads who have played the best they ever had in a Barrow shirt,” said Wild.
“They were outstanding.
“It was really nice last Saturday when I went and had a chat with the fans and the fans who have been with us through thick and thin knew we were having a blip and we would come through it and we’ve delivered for them.
“I’m really pleased that we’ve done that because some of the things they were saying was humbling to say the least.
“I keep saying this, we must remember what this squad is doing for the football club and the distance it’s travelled.
“We’ve put a pin in the ground. Where we were 12 months ago in March we were out of the play-off picture and nowhere near it. Twelve months on we’re in the play-off picture.
“I think the staff and the squad deserve so much credit for what they’re doing for this football club.”
Stephen Clemence’s side slipped out of the play-off spots after defeat.
And frustrations boiled over as Conor Masterson and Remeao Hutton were booked for squaring up to one another at the end.
On the incident, Clemence said: “It’s an emotional game, football. You have to keep your emotions in check.
“I don’t like to see that, but I’ve nipped it in the bud. They’ve shaken hands and they’re fine.
“They both just want to win and sometimes in the heat of the moment your emotions can get the better of you, but they’re fine now.”
On the game, the Gills boss added: “I felt we were off it and we didn’t hit the levels we have set recently.
“It’s difficult when you play two away games on the spin, especially with the amount of miles we have put in in the past few days.
“I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but we were a little bit flat.
“I will go to bed wondering whether that’s my fault because you don’t want to change a team that’s done well.
“We dust ourselves down and get ready to start a new run on Saturday.
“We didn’t create enough. I have to say Barrow are very well organised. It was difficult and we didn’t have that spark that we needed.
“It is what it is, we’ve been beat. It’s one game.
“The division is the division and a lot of teams can beat each other. Is it a surprise? I came here thinking we’d win the game.
“We’ve got 10 games left and we’ll be trying to win them all.”
