Cole Palmer will make his first start for Chelsea when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge in the EFL Cup third round.
Chelsea will be desperate to bounce back to winning ways and reach the EFL Cup fourth round when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. And Mauricio Pochettino has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Malo Gusto is unavailable to take on Brighton & Hove Albion after seeing red against Aston Villa this past weekend. The French defender has joined Marcus Bettinelli (knee), Wesley Fofana (knee), Romeo Lavia (ankle), and Christopher Nkunku (knee) on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Reece James (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), Benoit Badiashile (hamstring), and Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) are close to returning. But the game against Brighton has come too soon for the quartet. The last few days have also seen Armando Broja regaining fitness.
The Albanian international appeared off the bench for his first outing of the season this past weekend. And Pochettino discussed Broja during his pre-match press conference. In addition, he spoke about Ben Chilwell, who has found himself on the bench in the last two games.
Pochettino said, “He’s not ready to start. He is helping the team and he is doing well, but he needs time to be fit again to be able to start a game. I think for 20 or 30 minutes he is able to help the team, but he’s still not ready to start.”
“I am so happy with Levi in the way that he is playing and he has shown character and I think he provides the team with a very good balance. I think Chilly is going to have the possibility to play, I think tomorrow he is going to play.”
Chilwell will return to the starting lineup on Wednesday, with Gusto’s absence shifting Axel Disasi to the right flank. So Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill should be the two centre-backs, with Djordje Petrovic taking his spot between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, Lesley Ugochukwu will return to the starting lineup, with Conor Gallagher finding himself on the bench. The youngster will join Moises Caicedo in the middle of the park, with Enzo Fernandez being the advanced midfielder.
Finally, Nicolas Jackson, whose suspension is not applicable to the EFL Cup, will spearhead the Chelsea attack against Brighton, considering he will miss the Premier League game this weekend. The Senegalese international should line up alongside Cole Palmer, making his first start for the Blues, and Mykhailo Mudryk in the final third.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Chilwell; Caicedo, Ugochukwu; Palmer, Fernandez, Mudryk; Jackson
