Mateo Kovacic is ruled out with an injury as Chelsea get set to take on Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Chelsea will look to make it two wins in two games in the 2022/23 Premier League when they lock horns with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Heading into the game, the Blues have been handed a fresh injury blow as Mateo Kovacic has been sidelined with a knee problem. Thomas Tuchel provided an update on the Croatian international’s situation in his pre-match presser, while also confirming that Marcos Alonso will not be involved as he looks to complete a transfer away from Chelsea.
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“He [Alonso] is not in training at the moment and is trying to finalise his transfer. He will not be available for Sunday’s game. It is the same for Kovacic, who is injured unfortunately with his knee, there has been a reaction. We decided to take a step back, to increase treatment time to reduce the stress that comes from training to have a normal reaction before we start again. Everybody else is available,” Tuchel said.
Having made a winning start to the campaign against Everton, Chelsea will be aiming to build on it, and Tuchel is unlikely to make any changes to the side that took the field at Goodison Park last weekend. That means Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and new signing Kalidou Koulibaly should form the three-man defence that will protect Edouard Mendy in the Blues’ goal on Sunday.
Ben Chilwell started at left wing-back last time and is expected to be retained against Tottenham. But the England ace will need to be at his best as new signing Marc Cucurella, who made a bright cameo against Everton, will be breathing down his neck and pushing for a start. Meanwhile, Reece James is a certain starter in the right-sided wing-back slot.
Jorginho scored the only goal of the game for Chelsea in their win against Everton last weekend. The Italian midfielder should again feature from the start in the centre of the park. He will continue to partner with N’Golo Kante in the midfield unit for Blues, meaning academy product Conor Gallagher will again have to suffice with a place on the bench.
Moving into the attacking unit, new arrival Raheem Sterling looks nailed on for one of the two wide attacking midfield slots. He will have support from Chelsea’s main man Mason Mount while Kai Havertz slots in as the No. 9 for the hosts against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be options from the bench.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly, James, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Mount, Sterling, Havertz.
