Raheem Sterling will return to the Chelsea starting lineup against Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea will be eager to return to winning ways when they welcome Sheffield United to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. And Mauricio Pochettino has new injury concerns to deal with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Robert Sanchez, Reece James, and Marc Cucurella picked up injuries last weekend against Everton. The trio will be out for the foreseeable future after joining Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Carney Chukwuemeka on the sidelines.
But Mauricio Pochettino had a positive update on Christopher Nkunku during his pre-match press conference. The Argentine tactician also spoke about the newly-injured players during the presser.
He said, “I prefer not to talk too much now. I think we need to go in-depth with the situation. He [James] is a little bit down because he was really excited to come back. How we built him back was perfect because it was step-by-step, first playing 20 minutes, then 30, 45, 60 minutes. We tried to build his confidence in a perfect way for a full recovery.”
“You are always going to suffer when you have an injury to a player who has been our number one goalkeeper so far, it’s always a player you’re going to miss. But we have another keeper that has been working hard to be ready if this type of thing happens.”
On Nkunku, he said, “He can be involved. That is very good news for us because being involved tomorrow and being in the squad, he can start to feel the competition, to feel the Premier League, and be with his team-mates for the first time after pre-season.”
Nkunku will feature in the matchday squad on Saturday, but the game has come too soon for him to start. Nicolas Jackson will spearhead the Chelsea attack against Sheffield United, with Raheem Sterling returning on the left flank. Cole Palmer will feature on the right wing, with Mykhailo Mudryk dropping to the bench.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Conor Gallagher, Moises Caicedo, and Enzo Fernandez. As for the defensive unit, Axel Disasi should feature as the right-back in James’s absence. The Frenchman will join Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva, and Levi Colwill in the backline. Finally, Djordje Petrovic will replace Robert Sanchez between the sticks.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Disasi, Silva, Badiashile, Colwill; Fernandez, Caicedo; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson
