Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner have been ruled out while Kai Havertz will play up front when Chelsea face Norwich City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea will be hoping to remain perched atop the Premier League table when they play hosts to Norwich City at Stamford Bridge in Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off. And Thomas Tuchel has been handed a double blow on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
While Christian Pulisic remains sidelined with an ankle injury that has been bothering him for weeks now, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner have now become unavailable after sustaining an ankle and a hamstring injury, respectively earlier this week in the UEFA Champions League tie with Malmo FF.
During his pre-match press conference, Tuchel did provide an update on the attacking duo, saying, “There is no big news for Romelu and Timo. They are out for tomorrow and they are out for the Southampton game, and from there we see what’s next. I don’t think it makes sense to go into speculation about how long this is going to be.”
“If we had done this with Christian Pulisic, maybe you would think I’m a liar and I’m hiding something. You never know. Things can be shorter or longer than expected. The one thing I can tell you for sure is they are both in treatment. Both are feeling positive, not too worried, and are out for the next two games for sure.”
Chelsea vs Norwich City Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
With Lukaku and Werner sidelined, Tuchel has been forced to think of creative solutions as far as spearheading the Chelsea attack is concerned, especially after deciding to sell Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud in addition to loaning out Michy Batshuayi in the summer transfer window. The Chelsea boss, though, suggested that Kai Havertz could be a short-term solution.
“Without Romelu we thought we could play with Timo as a number nine or with Kai as a number nine. For me it’s not so much of a false nine because Kai is also very strong in the last line, behind the last line and arriving in the box. For me it’s a big strength of his and when he plays the number nine we want this from him and he did it against Malmo. So this is more what we expect from him tomorrow.”
Havertz should indeed lead the line for Chelsea against Norwich after impressing in the role upon replacing Lukaku in the midweek fixture. Another player who left his mark on the game was Callum Hudson-Odoi, who might have forced his way back into the starting lineup. Joining Havertz and Hudson-Odoi in the attacking unit ought to be Mason Mount.
The rest of the starting lineup might see some shuffles, particularly in midfield, where Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic should start ahead of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho. Out wide, Ben Chilwell is nailed on as the left wing-back for now. However, on the opposite flank, the fit-again Reece James ought to be back.
Having said that, Cesar Azpilicueta will move back into the three-man central defensive unit, with Andreas Christensen likely to get some rest after featuring in almost every game so far this season. So, with that in mind, Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva ought to line up alongside Azpilicueta in the back three, with Edouard Mendy taking his place in goal.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Havertz, Hudson-Odoi
