Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro will hope to return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they take on Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.
Chelsea will aim to secure a spot in the FA Cup final when they lock horns with Leeds United in the second semi-final at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. Calum McFarlane has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
The English tactician has been sweating over the fitness of Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro after the duo missed the Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion. They face late fitness tests to determine their availability. Meanwhile, Filip Jorgensen (groin), Reece James (hamstring), Levi Colwill (knee), Jamie Gittens (thigh), and Estevao Willian (hamstring) remain in the treatment room.
Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk continues his suspension after failing a doping test over a year ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, McFarlane provided fitness updates on Estevao, Palmer, and Joao Pedro.
Chelsea’s interim head coach said, “Estevao unfortunately won’t play for us this season. He will be out for a little bit of time. We’re not sure how long he will be out for but he certainly won’t play for us again this season, unfortunately. That’s really unfortunate for him, especially for someone so young and talented as he is but we are here to support him and be around him.”
“With Joao and Cole, they both trained today and are in a good place. We don’t know yet [whether they can feature on Sunday], but we have another day tomorrow to have a look at them and then make a call on them. But we hope so [they can be involved], but it’s important we give them time. We are going to train tomorrow, they will both be involved and we will make a call on them after that session.”
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Leeds United on Sunday. The backline will feature Josh Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah, Jorrel Hato, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, Enzo Fernandez will line up alongside Moises Caicedo in the double pivot. Joao Pedro will reprise the no. 10 role, with Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer being the two wide attackers. Finally, Liam Delap will lead the line for the Blues against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Acheampong, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo; Palmer, Pedro, Neto; Delap
