Maurizio Sarri has made as many as seven changes to the Chelsea team that faced Manchester United, for their Europa League encounter against Malmo.
With the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on the horizon, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has decided to preserve some of his key players for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 32 contest against Malmo.
Willy Caballero gets the nod in goal for Chelsea, with first-choice keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga sidelined with an injury. Andreas Christensen and Emerson Palmieri come into the backline, replacing David Luiz and Marcos Alonso respectively.
This is the team that Maurizio Sarri has chosen for this evening's game! ?#CHEMAL pic.twitter.com/czaUZSLeLQ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 21, 2019
Just the one alteration in the middle of the park, with Jorginho dropping out to the bench. Ross Barkley replaces the Italian, with N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic holding on to their spots. The latter will slot in as the deepest of the three midfielders.
The entire attacking line has been changed by Sarri, with Willian replacing Pedro on the right, with the Spaniard unavailable due to a stomach ache. Gonzalo Higuain drops out to the bench and is replaced by Olivier Giroud, while Callum Hudson-Odoi gets a chance to impress on the left flank, with Eden Hazard getting benched.
Youngster Jamie Cumming makes the bench as the backup goalkeeper and is also joined by Ethan Ampadu and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.