Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Christian Pulisic is the only absentee ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting against Malmo.
The Blues registered a hard-fought 1-0 win over Brentford over the weekend. The result preserved their top spot in the Premier League standings ahead of Liverpool.
They will now shift their attention towards the European clash against Malmo. Ahead of the game, there has been a significant boost with the return of key players.
Antonio Rudiger (back), Hakim Ziyech (illness) and Thiago Silva (late arrival from international duty) missed the recent west London derby away from home.
The trio were present in full training in Monday’s session. Tuchel has now practically confirmed their availability with only Christian Pulisic on the sidelines.
He told Chelseafc.com: “It’s only Christian Pulisic who is missing for tomorrow. He was getting close [to a return] but then had a little reaction with some pain in his ankle.”
The Blues have had a good start to the campaign, but they have struggled to find the back of the net with regularity over the past five games in all competitions.
Barring the 3-1 win at Southampton, they have netted twice in the other four matches, suffering two defeats.
They will be favourites against Malmo on Wednesday night, and have received a boost in defence with the availability of Rudiger and Silva. The duo should make the line-up.
Tuchel will hope for a much better attacking display from his team after a mixed performance against the Bees where Edouard Mendy saved their blushes with outstanding saves.
The Blues are currently second in their Champions League group with three points, leading Zenit St Petersburg on the head-to-head record (1-0 win at Stamford Bridge last month).
They have the opportunity to put themselves on the brink of knock-out qualification by beating Malmo in the upcoming double-header – the first of which is at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues make the trip to Malmo’s Eleda Stadium at the beginning of November.
