Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is set to make his debut for Chelsea, while Ben Chilwell is in line to start when they take on Tottenham in the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea will be aiming to advance to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup when they face off against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round on Tuesday night.
Ahead of the game, manager Frank Lampard confirmed that new signings Edouard Mendy and Ben Chilwell are fit and available. However, the Blues will continue to be without the services of Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, while Billy Gilmour is also sidelined.
Speaking in his pre-match presser, Lampard said, “Mendy and Chilwell are in the squad for tomorrow. They’re fit and we will see whether they start or not. Ziyech and Pulisic are not far away. They are still in their recovery stage so it’s too early for them both.”
???????: 'Mendy and @BenChilwell are in the squad, they’re fit and we will see whether they start or not'. ? #TOTCHE pic.twitter.com/t4VwlUiB7P
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 28, 2020
The 28-year-old Mendy should, in all likelihood, make his debut for Chelsea on Tuesday night. The new signing should replace Willy Caballero, who started in the last two matches, with Kepa Arrizabalaga dropping further down the pecking order.
There ought to be wholesale changes in defence, with Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori expected to replace Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva, who started at the weekend. Flanking the duo should be captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Chilwell, who will be making his full debut for the Blues, after featuring as a substitute in the last round against Barnsley.
N’Golo Kante is in line for a rest, with Jorginho likely to replace the diminutive midfielder against Tottenham. Partnering the Italian international in the double pivot should be Mateo Kovacic, who played just 45 minutes in the league game against West Brom.
Kai Havertz scored a brilliant hat-trick against Barnsley in the last round. However, given that he played the full ninety minutes at the weekend, the German is likely to be benched for this one, with Ross Barkley getting the nod as the No. 10 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With Ziyech and Pulisic ruled out, Lampard doesn’t have a lot of options for the wide areas. Thus, Mason Mount should continue to feature on the left flank, while Callum Hudson-Odoi, who made a great impact from the bench at the weekend, should start on the right.
Both Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham played the entire game at the weekend and could do with a rest, paving the way for Olivier Giroud to start as the lone striker against Jose Mourinho’s side.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori, Chilwell; Jorginho, Kovacic; Hudson-Odoi, Barkley, Mount; Giroud
