Chelsea full squad vs Man City finally revealed after Christopher Nkunku returns to training
Chelsea’s squad under Mauricio Pochettino is expected to receive a major boost as they attempt to make it to their fourth FA Cup final since 2020. Even while there are still a lot of long-term injuries to cope with, some important players should soon be back.
Five of the nine replacements for the Blues’ starting lineup against Everton on Monday had never played for the team before the season began. This was an inexperienced bench even for the team. Though they weren’t deployed, the young duo Tyrique George and Kiano Dyer earned their berths by their efforts in the academy and during training.
They travel to Wembley to take on Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and will catch their opponents at perhaps the best time, bruised by being dumped out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid on Wednesday night after 120 minutes. Pochettino has less travel and a whole two days more to prepare his side for the game.
He will be able to welcome back Raheem Sterling to the squad too after illness kept him from featuring against Everton. Sterling hasn’t started since being booed by his own fans in a 4-2 FA Cup win over Leicester City before the international break but could return to the starting XI here.
He will be joined by Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine also missed Monday’s game, this time with injury. He could be set for a hernia operation at the end of the season, but Pochettino is leaving the decision open. “We are going to do what is the best for him. We [as a coaching staff] have experience of managing this situation,” he said on Friday.
“First of all, the most important thing is him as a person, not as a player. It’s about how he feels and if he is comfortable with the situation or not. We will all support his decision (if he feels he needs surgery). We are not going to force him to do something. We are here to help and advise him of our assessment and experience.
“We are managing the situation in conversation with the coaching [medical] staff. Of course, yes, it is true that in the past he suffered some problems there but he is dealing really well with the situation.
“We always assess him day by day. We need to protect him because he is a young guy and the present is important but so is the future.”
This pair will add experience to the group on Saturday, as will Axel Disasi. He was another struggling with injury and illness last week but was removed from the club’s pre-match absence list. The Frenchman could come back into the starting XI.
Those that definitely won’t be featuring are Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Christopher Nkunku. The latter is in partial team training after almost two months out.
“They assess him day by day and in the last few days he has the possibility to be involved in some parts of the training session,” Pochettino explained. “We now need to see the reaction of his body and see how he evolves. We hope he can be involved soon.”
James continues to be in individual training on the grass at Cobham but no return is imminent just yet. It is likely to be next season before the others are seen in action.
Midfielder Cesare Casadei, who has played a handful of small cameos since coming back from his loan at Leicester in January, is cup-tied so cannot be involved. Rob Sanchez has returned to training after missing the Everton clash. He has been the cup ‘keeper this season even after losing his spot to Djordje Petrovic.
Levi Colwill is not yet ready to come back from a toe injury that has seen him miss the last two and a half months. Despite a still lengthy set of unavailable players, the return of some from various issues will leave Pochettino’s hand stronger for a key game.
Here, Chelsea247 has predicted the squad for the game.
Goalkeepers: Rob Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic
Defenders: Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Alfie Gilchrist, Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Benoit Badiashile
Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka
Attackers: Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Deivid Washington