Chelsea welcome Championship side Blackburn Rovers to Stamford Bridge for a fourth-round Carabao Cup clash on Wednesday night.
The Blues’ four-game unbeaten run across all competitions was snapped on Saturday as west London rivals Bournemouth brought them crashing back down to earth with a 2-0 win. The damaging defeat at the weekend saw the Pensioners drop back into the Premier League’s bottom half.
Mauricio Pochettino must now ensure the game against Blackburn Rovers does not become a banana skin of a cup tie which could heap even more pressure on him ahead of a tough run of league fixtures.
Chelsea Team News
Ben Chilwell, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka and Christopher Nkunku remain out for Chelsea. Mykhaylo Mudryk missed the defeat to Brentford with a minor muscle issue and is likely to miss out again, but Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed in his pre-match presser that skipper Reece James will start against Blackburn.
Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Blackburn Rovers (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Robert Sanchez should keep his place in between the sticks having started all of Chelsea’s games so far. The Spaniard will be hoping to keep a clean sheet against the Championship side.
Defence
Pochettino has stated that he will name as strong a Chelsea XI as he possibly can, with Reece James confirmed to start at right-back. Thiago Silva is one of the more obvious candidates to be given a breather due to his age, so that means Axel Disasi should move into central defence and partner Benoit Badiashile.
Ian Maatsen could get a chance to impress at left-back at the expense of Marc Cucurella, who started in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford.
Midfield
Moises Caicedo will sit in front of the back four, break up the opposition’s play and dictate the tempo of Chelsea’s play. Conor Gallagher and Lesley Ugochukwu will provide support on either side of Caicedo, whose passing range and vision in the middle of the park could be key in releasing the likes of Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke down the flanks.
Chelsea may have to make do without Enzo Fernandez again, with the team scrambling to find a solution to breach a well-drilled Brentford defence in his absence last weekend.
Attack
Noni Madueke could be in for another start after impressing against Brentford, while Raheem Sterling keeps his place on the left. Nicolas Jackson should lead the Blues’ attack against Blackburn, hoping to score and get some confidence back ahead of a tough set of league fixtures.
Chelsea’s best player of late, Cole Palmer could be involved at some point in the second half against the Championship side in midweek.
