Full Chelsea squad for wolves clash revealed as Mauricio Pochettino welcomes back attacker
Mauricio Pochettino will be able to call on Nicolas Jackson against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday after the striker returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.
But the Blues are still without eight senior first-team players as serious injuries continue to blight another underwhelming Premier League season at Stamford Bridge. Senegal forward Jackson had hoped to be figuring in the AFCON final for his national team but it was not to be as they were eliminated by Ivory Coast in the first knockout round on penalties.
Senegal’s loss is Chelsea’s gain, however, and Pochettino will be hoping that his summer signing can get back amongst the goals against a Wolves team that could leapfrog their hosts in the table if they were to pull off a surprise away win. Jackson trained with the squad on Friday and could be in line to start up front alongside Christopher Nkunku for just the second time this season.
Pochettino stayed coy over just how likely that would be during his pre-match press conference.
The Chelsea boss told reporters: “It is important to recover Christoph [from the mid-week Liverpool match]. 45 minutes was enough for him. We need to analyse and assess him to see if he can start the next game. [We] hope he can cope with the demand of the game and maybe he can play more than 45 minutes.
“[We] need to also assess Nico. Today was his first training session with us. He didn’t play too much [at AFCON] but of course was one month away. That is why we need to assess him and not take a risk. But for sure, he will be involved if nothing happens tomorrow with the squad.”
That’s pretty much where the good news ends for Chelsea, with Levi Colwill once against missing out with what was initially described as as minor problem.
He remains on an extensive injury list that also includes Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana, Lesley Ugochukwu and Romeo Lavia.
Limited options could see Pochettino deployed Nkunku in an attacking midfield role, with Jackson thrown straight in up top alongside Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling. Malo Gusto could replace Benoit Badiashile in the back four, with the Frenchman struggling in the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool on Wednesday.
With the Blues looking to bounce back quickly after their Anfield humbling, we named the full squad expected to be available to Pochettino against Wolves.
Goalkeepers: Djordje Petrovic, Lucas Bergstrom
Defenders: Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto, Alfie Gilchrist, Josh Brooking
Midfielders: Conor Gallagher, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Leo Castledine, Alex Matos
Forwards: Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Deivid Washington