Mauricio Pochettino will likely already know exactly who he is going to start for tonight’s Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.
He has had nine days now since the last Chelsea game, when they struggled albeit battled to a point in the London derby against Brentford.
Pochettino elected to try a new system that day, with the side operating in a back three with Axel Disasi, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill.
The latter has now been added to a list of players who are suffering with injuries that continues to get bigger every single week.
In his pre-match press conference, the manager also admitted he may not be able to select one of the players he has relied upon the most so far this season.
Conor Gallagher has been arguably the coach’s favourite player to call upon this season, with him frequently donning the captain’s armband in the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
However, Pochettino admitted that he was suffering with illness, and could be a struggle to start in West London.
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With the position likely to be the one ahead of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, it feels as if there is a clear option to replace him if he is fit to feature.
Pochettino must start Chukwuemeka
Carney Chukwuemeka began the season as a starter for Chelsea, and scored his first goal for the club in their second game against West Ham.
However, a serious injury that immediately followed saw him miss the majority of the rest of the campaign. He has yet to start a game since August.
Any showings this year have only come from the bench, with him beginning to build his fitness back up.
Tonight looks the first opportunity for him to start a game again, and prove to everyone that the £20m fee they paid for him was by no means excessive.
