Antonio Conte confirmed he has a fully fit squad to choose from, as he looks to help Chelsea extend their lead at the top of the table to 9 points.
With Diego Costa returning to the squad after recovering from a back injury, Antonio Conte confirmed in his pre-match press conference that there were no new injury concerns going into tonight’s tie against Hull City and he had a fully fit squad to pick his starting XI from.
With Costa absent last week, Hazard, Pedro and Willian all started as a part of Chelsea’s front three and made easy work of the foxes. This predicament, however, is one that Conte welcomes with pleasure given the amount of quality in his ranks.
“To make a decision is not easy because I have four or five players who are very strong in that position. They are in good form and they give me different options,” he said. “I’m pleased about this because when you have many players to choose from it’s good. I’ve been sleeping less so I make the best decision but that’s my task, to pick the best players game by game.”
About Diego Costa, Conte confirmed that the Spaniard would be available for selection once again and reaffirmed his commitment to the club and insisted that his focus was solely on Chelsea’s title charge. But the Italian refused to say whether he would start today’s tie.
“Yes, he’s available for the game against Hull. He started training on Tuesday with the team and he trained very well,” Conte said. “He doesn’t have the pain in his back so for this reason he’s available for the game. On Sunday and Monday Diego was training so he could work with the team on Tuesday.”
Because they face a relegation bound Hull City side, players like Nathan Ake, Kurt Zouma, Cesc Fabregas and Nathaniel Chalobah ought to get a look in. Some of them might get a look in, but it likely that Conte will go his usual 3-4-3 formation with his regular first choice of players.
With Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City all dropping points yesterday, this is the perfect opportunity for the Blues to obtain a 9 point lead at the top of the table and keeping that in mind, it is unlikely that Conte will go with anything less than his best starting XI.