Chelsea
Key man ruled out as Sarri makes 4 changes | Expected Chelsea line-up vs Frankfurt
Chelsea take on Eintracht Frankfurt at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night. Here is the side I think Maurizio Sarri will select for the game:
Chelsea will be looking to book their place in the Europa League final when they take on Eintracht Frankfurt at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night. Here is the side I think Maurizio Sarri will select for the game:
Goalkeeper: The Chelsea boss has stuck with Kepa Arrizabalaga for most of the Europa League campaign so the Spaniard is expected to keep his place between the sticks with Willy Caballero once again on the bench.
Defence: Antonio Rudiger is once again missing as the German defender has been ruled out for around three months with a knee ligament injury so Andreas Christensen should continue alongside David Luiz in the middle of the back four.
Cesar Azpilicueta will once again occupy the right-back position but we could see a change on the opposite flank with Emerson Palmeiri coming in for Marcos Alonso after being named on the bench for the win over Watford on Sunday afternoon.
Midfield: Chelsea have been hit by a major blow as N’Golo Kante has been ruled out with a hamstring injury that he picked up at the weekend but Jorginho will continue in the deep lying playmaker role for the Blues.
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Ruben Loftus-Cheek came off the bench to score at the weekend and he’s expected to be recalled to the starting eleven against Frankfurt while Ross Barkley is also pushing for a recall. The Englishman could replace Mateo Kovacic if Sarri wants to freshen things up even further.
Attack: Gonzalo Higuain was on target during the 3-0 victory over Watford on Sunday afternoon but the Argentinean international could still find himself dropping to the bench with Olivier Giroud pushing for a recall up front.
Eden Hazard was surprisingly left out of the starting eleven in the first leg but the Belgian superstar is expected to start tomorrow night and Chelsea will be looking for some magic from their star man to secure their place in the Europa League final.
Willian is an option in attack if Sarri wants to mix things up but I think we’ll see Pedro keeping his place after he scored the all-important away goal during the 1-1 draw in Germany. Callum Hudson-Odoi remains on the sidelines with a serious Achilles injury.
Here is how we think Chelsea will line-up:
