Romelu Lukaku is in contention for selection while Trevoh Chalobah and Timo Werner should start when Chelsea face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Chelsea will be looking to advance to the finals of the FA Cup when they lock horns with London rivals Crystal Palace at Wembley on Sunday evening. Leading up to the game, the Blues have been handed an injury boost as record signing Romelu Lukaku has returned to training after missing the last couple of matches. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell are thus the only absentees for Chelsea heading into the game.
Confirming the same in his pre-match presser, manager Thomas Tuchel said: “Romelu was back in training yesterday. Let’s see if he has any reaction or not. Except for Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi, everybody seems to be okay. We still have two more training sessions to go so fingers crossed it stays like this.”
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The manager is unlikely to make many changes to the side that beat Real Madrid earlier in the week, even though they got eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on the aggregate scoreline.
Marcus Bettinelli and Kepa Arrizabalaga have both played in the earlier stages of the FA Cup this season. But Tuchel recalled Edouard Mendy to the lineup for the quarter-finals against Middlesbrough. He could again stick with his first-choice goalkeeper against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger are certainties in the three-man backline for Chelsea. The remaining position could go to academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah, who has had a solid breakthrough campaign. It should free Reece James to return to his natural right wing-back slot after playing as the right-sided centre-half against Real Madrid in midweek.
Marcos Alonso is the obvious pick at left wing-back in the absence of Chilwell. As for the midfield department, Tuchel is likely to stick with the pairing of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, who impressed in the midweek encounter. It would mean that Ruben Loftus-Cheek could miss out on a starting berth.
Mason Mount has been in brilliant form over the past few weeks and is a guaranteed starter in the attacking midfield slot. While Lukaku is back in contention, it is unlikely that Tuchel will alter the combination of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, with both the German forwards hitting form in recent fixtures.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy, Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Havertz, Werner.
