Denis Zakaria and Armando Broja will earn rare starts when Chelsea take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Chelsea have failed to win their last four league games, and the game against Manchester City will be a major test for them. It remains to be seen whether the Blues can step up and grind out a morale-boosting away win.
Graham Potter has a number of injury issues to deal with. The visitors will be without N’Golo Kante, who has a long-term injury concern. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is still out with his foot injury. Defenders Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Reece James are likely to return after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and youngster Carney Chukwuemeka has a hamstring injury.
Jorginho is a doubt with an injury as well. Potter provided an update on the Italian international during his pre-match press conference, saying, “Jorginho has a slight problem with his foot, so he’s doubtful for tomorrow. Apart from that, we’re with pretty much the same group that we had.”
“Kepa is still unavailable. We’ll see about the World Cup. He’s got to take it day by day, it’s a tear in the plantar fascia, so it depends on how he responds, how he responds to pain, how comfortable he feels, but at the moment it’s not so positive.”
Manchester City vs Chelsea Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
Meanwhile, on Reece James, Potter said, “No miracles, unfortunately. He’s progressing well. Reece was outside today, had a little jog, but nothing to report in terms of anything else.”
On Kovacic, he said, “He’s just had an ongoing knee issue that’s a little bit of discomfort, but it hasn’t stopped him completely. Certainly, we’ve had to be conscious of that fact during this period. It’s not a massive problem for him, he’ll be fine for the World Cup, it’s fine. I wouldn’t say he’s necessarily 100 per cent but he’s not far away from that.”
“It’s just that we’ve managed it really well and he’s managed it really well. He’s a top professional, he’s done everything he can in terms of rehab and looking after himself in the gym, making sure his body’s as good as it can be.”
Despite their injury problems, Chelsea have enough quality to get a good result here. The Blues are likely to set up in a 4-3-3 formation. Edouard Mendy is expected to start in goal. The Senegalese goalkeeper lost his place to Kepa and will look to earn it back through consistent performances now.
Cesar Azpilicueta is set to start as the right-back, with Trevoh Chalobah and Kalidou Koulibaly marshalling the heart of the Chelsea defence. Marc Cucurella is the only left-back option available to Potter and is set to start here.
In the midfield, Conor Gallagher, Denis Zakaria and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will get the opportunity to impress. They have not had ample game time this season and will look to make an impression on the manager here. Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic are likely to start in the wide areas with young striker Armando Broja leading the line.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Loftus-Cheek, Zakaria, Gallagher; Pulisic, Broja, Mount
