Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will return while Reece James will move to his right wing-back spot when Chelsea take on Leeds United.
Chelsea will be aiming to get back to winning ways when they lock horns with Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. After losing to West Ham United and drawing 3-3 with Zenit St Petersburg in midweek, Thomas Tuchel & co. will be raring to bounce back.
And, heading into the game, the Blues have been handed an injury boost as Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who missed the Champions League clash, are back in contention. However, Chelsea will continue to be without the services of Trevoh Chalobah, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell.
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Providing a team news update in his pre-match presser, Tuchel said: “Trev is still out. Mateo Kovacic is out, N’Golo Kante out for tomorrow, and Ben Chilwell. He [Jorginho] did the last two training sessions and I think he will do what he did the last games, play through pain and do what he needs to be on the pitch.”
Tuchel will make several changes to the side that took the field against Zenit, starting from the goal where Edouard Mendy is expected to reclaim his spot from Kepa Arrizabalaga. There will be a couple of alterations in the three-person backline, with Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger returning in place of Cesar Azpilicueta and Malang Sarr, while Andreas Christensen holds on to his spot in the side.
Reece James, who was surprisingly selected as a midfielder in midweek, will return to his natural right wing-back role, Tuchel has confirmed. “Reecey will start as a wing-back. We will find another consolation, he helped us out. We took the match to see some things because imagine if something happens tomorrow to Jorgi and we need to have a solution and we wanted to see it in real life,” the German said.
Marcos Alonso, meanwhile, should start at left wing-back after on-loan star Saul Niguez was deployed in the position against Zenit, where he failed to impress. With both Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek available for selection, they ought to form the double pivot in the middle of the park, with Ross Barkley dropping out of the side.
Timo Werner was the star of the show for Chelsea in midweek and should start again at the top, while Romelu Lukaku, who was also on target, should hold on to his spot in attack. Mason Mount, meanwhile, would operate in behind the two centre-forwards for Chelsea, meaning the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech miss out yet again.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy, Christensen, Silva, Rudiger, James, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Alonso, Mount, Lukaku, Werner.
