Full Chelsea squad available for Leeds clash confirmed as Tuchel rules out duo
Chelsea will be going in search of a third successive Premier League win when they travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United this lunchtime, kick-off 12:30pm.
The Blues, who defeated Marcelo Bielsa’s side 3-1 in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in December, continued their excellent start to life under head coach Thomas Tuchel on Monday evening with a comfortable 2-0 home triumph against Everton.
An own-goal from Toffees centre-back Ben Godfrey and a penalty from Jorginho either side of half time sealed another three-point haul for the Blues, extending their unbeaten run under Tuchel in all competitions to 11 matches.
The win over Everton also cemented the Blues’ spot in the top-four, meaning a win against Leeds, who have lost their last two matches without scoring, would see them move into third-place, ahead of Leicester City, but only on goal-difference.
But despite the Blues having the opportunity to cut the gap to second-placed Manchester United to just one point this lunchtime, Tuchel is remaining grounded, insisting the league table will take care of itself if his players continue to do what is expected of them on the pitch.
Ahead of this lunchtime’s trip up north, Tuchel has been forced to deliver bad news on the injury front, confirming that Thiago Silva will miss out. After missing seven games with a thigh problem, the Brazilian was named on the bench against Everton, offering hope that his return was near. However, he has since suffered a setback, meaning he will miss the clash with the Whites.
“Thiago had a little setback in training,” said Tuchel. “At the end of the training session the day before yesterday [Wednesday], he felt at the very end something around the same area that he injured.
“So we had to take him off. So he is back into the transition phase but not team training so he will be out.”
Tuchel delivered similar bad news in regards to Tammy Abraham. The striker, who has found himself out of favour recently, did miss the win over Everton because of an ankle injury and he still not fit enough to be considered available for a return.
Tuchel added: “He still has ankle pain from the tackle against Newcastle. He isn’t 100% comfortable.
“The day before yesterday [Wednesday] he was fine, yesterday [Thursday] he had to cancel training. So I think these two are out for tomorrow but everybody else is available.”
Elsewhere, the likes of Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount will be amongst those targeting returns after dropping out of the starting line-up against Everton.
Full Chelsea squad available to face Leeds United:
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga & Willy Caballero.
Defenders: Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso & Emerson Palmieri.
Midfielders: Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Billy Gilmour, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz & Faustino Anjorin.
Strikers: Timo Werner & Olivier Giroud.