Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi ought to return while Christian Pulisic will drop to the bench when Chelsea take on Leicester City on Tuesday.
Chelsea will be eager to build on a crucial win over Fulham last time out when they lock horns with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night. And, Frank Lampard does not have any fresh roster issues to contend with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
N’Golo Kante, who missed the previous game due to a one-game suspension, is still unavailable due to a thigh injury. The Frenchman is the only Chelsea player on the sidelines currently, with Andreas Christensen recovering from a knee complaint.
Lampard provided an update on Kante during his pre-match press conference, saying, “Christensen is available but N’Golo unfortunately isn’t. His hamstring is not quite ready for this one and those are the two of note to report on.”
Christensen, despite being available, should miss out for Chelsea, with Kurt Zouma likely to come in for Antonio Rudiger at the heart of the defence, where he will partner Thiago Silva. Reece James is likely to return as well, coming in for captain Cesar Azpilicueta, while Ben Chilwell is a certainty in the left-back slot. In goal, there is no looking past Edouard Mendy.
Up ahead in midfield, Jorginho is likely to hold on to the holding midfield spot in Kante’s absence, despite an underwhelming display last time out. The Italian international should have Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount, who received words of praise from Lampard in his presser, for company in the middle of the park.
“I’m not sure how anybody could really criticise him of late. In the modern world, it’s really easy to hear them even if you don’t use social media and I felt that last season as well. The critics are wrong, there’s no doubt about that. Anyone who understands or knows about football and watches Mason Mount play understands what an incredible talent he is.”
Finally, in attack, there ought to be a couple of changes. Callum Hudson-Odoi should come in for Christian Pulisic after some promising comments of late by Lampard. Tammy Abraham will likely lead the line for Chelsea against Leicester, meaning Timo Werner misses out, seeing as Hakim Ziyech should start on the right wing.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount; Ziyech, Abraham, Hudson-Odoi
