Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic will return when Chelsea and Red Bull Salzburg face off in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Chelsea will hope to clinch qualification to the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds when they lock horns with Red Bull Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena Salzburg on Tuesday night. And Graham Potter does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, and N’Golo Kante remain on the sidelines, with the quartet missing from Chelsea’s travelling squad to take on Red Bull Salzburg. While Koulibaly is a short-term absentee, the other three players will take a few weeks to return.
Potter provided an update on Koulibaly during his pre-match press conference. And the Chelsea manager revealed that the veteran Senegalese defender should resume light training in a day or two. So he will likely also miss Chelsea’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.
Potter said, “It’s not too serious. This game was too soon for him. We’re hoping to get him on the grass Wednesday or Thursday, but he’s obviously not available for tomorrow night.”
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Marc Cucurella was in an embarrassing position this past weekend against Manchester United as Potter took him off to make a tactical change. The Chelsea manager also spoke about Cucurella and expressed his sympathy for the Spaniard.
“He’s had a couple of issues, a bit of illness, he’s been on antibiotics, but he’s a lot better. Manchester United was purely tactical, a need to get an extra body in midfield. He was the one to come out probably because of all the things that have happened to him. A bit unlucky there.”
“He’s good, he’s ready to fight for the team, he’s ready to play. He’s a resilient character, he’s a really good person. Sometimes when you move clubs it goes really well, and sometimes it can be a little bit of an up-and-down period. Marc’s a little bit up and down but he’s a top player and he will show his quality.”
Cucurella will drop out of the starting lineup against Red Bull Salzburg, with the Blues lining up in a 4-3-3 formation. So Trevoh Chalobah and Cesar Azpilicueta should form the central defensive pairing. And Cesar Azpilicueta and Ben Chilwell will likely feature as the full-backs. Kepa Arrizabalaga will take his place between the sticks on Tuesday.
Kovacic will likely return to the starting lineup, taking his place in the middle of the park. The Croat will have Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher alongside him in the midfield trifecta. So Jorginho will drop out, taking his place on the bench.
As for the offensive unit, Raheem Sterling’s form is a worry for Chelsea, even though Potter has expressed his support for the Englishman. Sterling will drop to the bench on Tuesday, with Christian Pulisic getting a rare chance to impress. The USMNT international will join Mason Mount and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the final third.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Silva, Chilwell; Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Gallagher; Mount, Aubameyang, Pulisic
