Chelsea team news ahead of Arsenal game
Chelsea are all set for the London derby as Arsenal are set to visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and here’s the team news. The top four, as well as the top six, is at stake with Chelsea aiming to secure a Champions League place and Arsenal trying to make one last push for the Europa League spots.
Thomas Tuchel’s men have been in fine fettle heading into the game. They are fresh off handing a defeat to Manchester City and will be confident of toppling an inconsistent Arsenal side. Injury updates were provided by Football.london on the Chelsea duo of Andreas Christensen and Mateo Kovacic.
Andreas Christensen
The Danish defender was having a good game until a few minutes before half time where he lost his footing and let Gabriel Jesus in behind him. This resulted in City’s opening goal and Christensen was visibly in discomfort after he went to the ground.
A few minutes later, he was deemed unable to continue due to an apparent hamstring injury and was brought off in place of Kurt Zouma. Tuchel provided an update on the defender.
“I hope it’s not too bad. It’s more or less the same [injury] that he suffered some weeks ago around Porto games, I think, where we had to replace him. It was a 50/50 decision today [Saturday] whether we wanted to put him on the pitch or not. I hope we did not make a mistake. Because he’s so crucial for us in the last weeks — so, so strong. I hope we can escape with some days [of absence] and not weeks. But I’m not sure yet, I have no confirmation yet.”
Mateo Kovacic
Kovacic has been missing for a while now due to a hamstring injury. Tuchel was hopeful of having the midfielder back for the Arsenal game.
“[Mateo] Kovacic is out but we hope to bring him back for Arsenal and then hopefully for Wembley. It will be tight for Arsenal, but for tomorrow he is out. Everyone else is ready.”
More Chelsea News:
- Transfer News: Chelsea target Jadon Sancho wants England return
- Chelsea News: Marc Guehi contract extended by 12 months
- Peter Crouch: Chelsea need one more signing to win Premier League
Elsewhere, Thiago Silva, Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell are set to return after a rest against City. Chelsea will aim to mathematically secure a top-four place with a win. It promises to be an intriguing fixture given Chelsea’s form.
