Chelsea team news: Mendy misses out, Pulisic and Ziyech available
According to Football.London, Chelsea will have a plethora of attackers to call upon but will be without one key star in the Champions League opener against Sevilla.
The likes of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech are back in contention. Both players have returned to action in recent matches and are set to feature against the Europa League champions.
The former made his first start of the season against Southampton last weekend. The latter came on for his Blues debut off the bench in the same game.
Summer signing Ben Chilwell also played the whole ninety minutes despite missing out for England earlier in the week.
Having arrived at the club injured, the English international is emerging as a dependable option down the left for the Blues.
Striker Timo Werner looked to be in top shape as he earned a well-taken brace against the Saints at the weekend. Thankfully, he showed no sign of the illness he picked up while on national duty with Germany.
A major absentee for Chelsea could be Senegalese international Edouard Mendy. The goalkeeper injured himself last week and is out for the immediate future.
He was pictured training with the Blues earlier today amid hopes that he could make an early return to action.
“Mendy is, at the minute, injured and probably will be fit in the next week or two weeks, and then that will be the decision for me to make about who plays.”
Under-fire goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga replaced Mendy in goal at the weekend. It proved to be another difficult day at the office for the Spaniard, who was involved in a horrendous mix-up with Kurt Zouma for Southampton’s second.
It remains to be seen if Lampard will persist with the Spaniard or bring in Willy Caballero.
More Chelsea News
- Chelsea retain interest in Gianluigi Donnarumma
- Frank Lampard refuses to lay blame on Chelsea star Kepa Arrizabalaga
- Kai Havertz calls for Chelsea stars to unite and cut out on mistakes
The Blues will face off against Sevilla and newcomers Krasnodar and Stade Rennais in their Champions League group stage.
A fairly easy draw, Chelsea will be expected to make it to the round of 16 with ease. They can get off to a flyer if they secure all three points against Sevilla on matchday one.
