Romelu Lukaku will return, while Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante might be in contention to feature when Chelsea and Tottenham face off on Wednesday.
Chelsea will aim to clinch a place in the Carabao Cup final when they lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night. And Thomas Tuchel has been handed a double boost ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
The good news is that Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante have resumed training this week after testing negative for COVID-19. The duo’s return leaves Ben Chilwell and Reece James as the only major absentees for Chelsea.
Silva and Kante are not certainties to feature against Tottenham, though, with Tuchel revealing in his pre-match press conference that last-minute decisions will determine their involvement. The Chelsea boss said, “Right now I would say we have the guys we had in the FA Cup and no new injuries, which is good news for us.”
“We have to wait on last-minute decisions on Thiago and N’Golo. They have cardiac tests and Covid tests to follow the protocols so we can bring them back to training so we have to wait to see if they can be involved and then see how they respond. It’s a gamble to play them so I’m not sure if we can do it and how much responsibility we can take there.”
Neither Silva nor Kante is likely to start, with Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic expected to form the central midfield pairing, while Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Malang Sarr should combine in the back three. Kepa Arrizabalaga will be stationed in goal, with Edouard Mendy unavailable due to his participation at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Chilwell’s absence means Marcos Alonso will feature as the left wing-back. Hakim Ziyech should start on the opposite flank in James’s unavailability after showing promising signs in a hybrid wing-back role last week.
Moving on to the attacking unit, Romelu Lukaku is certain to lead the line for Chelsea, and he could be accompanied by Timo Werner. Tuchel hinted at the two strikers’ partnership in his press conference, saying, “We have our style, we have our positions, and we have enough possibilities. We can play with two strikers, we can play 5-3-2, we’ve played this many times with the ball and off the ball.”
Werner will be an option on the bench, though, with Kai Havertz and Mason Mount starting along with Lukaku in the final third. In addition to Werner, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi will also be backup offensive options.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Sarr; Ziyech, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount, Havertz; Lukaku