Ruben Loftus-Cheek will start again, while Trevoh Chalobah will replace Benoit Badiashile when Chelsea face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Chelsea are in dismal form heading into the UEFA Champions League contest against Borussia Dortmund. They have just one win from their last six matches across all competitions. And it remains to be seen whether Graham Potter can guide his side to a vital result here despite a number of injury problems.
Potter will be without the services of a number of first-team players here. Raheem Sterling, N’Golo Kante, Armando Broja, Christian Pulisic and Edouard Mendy are all sidelined with injuries. But Denis Zakaria, Wesley Fofana and Mateo Kovacic are back in the squad, Potter confirmed during his pre-match press conference.
Potter said, “All three are in the squad so that’s good. Like I said before the previous game, they were getting closer to minutes. The challenge for us is to build them up and to make sure they’re right from a game-time perspective, but it’s good that Wesley, Denis and Mateo are with the group.
“The other players coming back from injury, Raheem, NG and Christian Pulisic, they’ll just be working their way back at Cobham.”
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Meanwhile, Benoit Badiashile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been left out of the club’s Champions League squad. As for the team composition, Kepa Arrizabalaga is set to start in goal in the absence of Mendy.
The Blues are expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Reece James and Marc Cucurella deployed as the full-backs. Both players will be expected to protect the central defenders and offer an attacking outlet going forward. Thiago Silva will marshall the backline alongside Trevoh Chalobah here.
Meanwhile, January signing Enzo Fernandez will be expected to control the tempo of the game and add creativity from the middle of the park. The Argentine international is likely to start alongside Ruben Loftus-cheek, who will add a defensive cover to the midfield.
In the attack, Hakim Ziyech and Mykhaylo Mudryk will be asked to add creativity and flair from the wide areas as the Blues look to hit Dortmund on the break. Chelsea have the technical ability and pace to trouble Dortmund during transitions here.
Meanwhile, Joao Felix is likely to start as the number ten, and he will look to link the midfield to the attack. The Portuguese international is likely to operate in and around the box and will hope to break down the Dortmund defence with his incisive runs. German international Kai Havertz is all set to start as the striker here.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; James, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Loftus-Cheek, Fernandez; Ziyech, Felix, Mudryk; Havertz