Mateo Kovacic and Raheem Sterling will return when Chelsea and Nottingham Forest clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea will look to claim back-to-back wins when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. And Frank Lampard has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Ben Chilwell will be unavailable to take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday due to a hamstring injury. The English international has joined Marcus Bettinelli (knock), Reece James (thigh), Kalidou Koulibaly (hamstring), Marc Cucurella (thigh), Mason Mount (pelvis), and Armando Broja (knee) on the sidelines.
But Wesley Fofana has recovered from a hamstring injury to be available for Saturday’s fixture. Meanwhile, Lampard discussed the absence of Chilwell during his pre-match press conference, hoping for the Englishman to return before the season ends.
He said, “Chilly’s not fit. We’re hoping Chilly might be okay for the last game or two of the season but that’s a tight call. It’s a similar story with Mason, maybe a little bit similar with Reece. I feel like Reece might be slightly behind that. So we’re obviously chasing it a bit now.”
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“I feel for Chilly and all the players who want to play and represent the club. Obviously we miss big players. Reece, Chilly and Mason are big England internationals who have been successful with the club and I’ve not really had the benefit of them in this short period. Chilly maybe a little bit but Mason hasn’t really contributed at his top level where he’s fully fit. But it is what it is.”
Lampard also spoke about a few other players, saying, “Wes has been training this week so he’s good. Marc won’t be fit for this game and again probably questionable in line with the others for that final week of the season. Kalidou has trained with us the last couple of days, a little bit managed, not full training, so again looking at the next week when we have three games in six days or whatever.”
With Chilwell and Cucurella both unavailable, Lampard is dealing with a left-back problem. So Cesar Azpilicueta will likely start as a makeshift left-back, with Trevoh Chalobah featuring on the right flank. Meanwhile, Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile will form the central defensive pairing, with Kepa Arrizabalaga taking his place between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, Mateo Kovacic should return, despite Conor Gallagher’s goalscoring display against Bournemouth. The Croat will join N’Golo Kante and Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park on Saturday.
Finally, the offensive unit will also see one change. And Raheem Sterling should return on the left flank, with Kai Havertz spearheading the Chelsea attack against Nottingham Forest. And Noni Madueke will complete the numbers in the final third after a dazzling display last week.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Badiashile, Azpilicueta; Kante, Fernandez, Kovacic; Madueke, Havertz, Sterling
