Chelsea take on Chesterfield at Stamford Bridge this evening in the third round of the FA Cup.
Thomas Tuchel has made plenty of changes to his starting eleven with Marcus Bettilenni coming in to make a rare start in goal. Kepa drops to the bench while Edouard Mendy is away at the African Cup of Nations.
It appears Chelsea will go with a back four with Callum Hudson-Odoi seemingly starting at right-back and youngster Lewis Hall coming in at left-back. Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are rested. Antonio Rudiger is also given a breather while Thiago Silva is out with covid but Andreas Christensen is passed fit to start alongside Malang Sarr in the middle of defence.
Mateo Kovacic is recalled to start in midfield along with Saul Niguez so Jorginho drops to the bench where he’s joined by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley. N’Golo Kante remains unavailable for selection for Chelsea due to covid.
Hakim Ziyech starts out wide while Christian Pulisic gets a recall on the left flank but Mason Mount isn’t involved in the matchday squad today. Romelu Lukaku keeps his place up front and Timo Werner gets a recall to support the Belgian international in the Chelsea attack.
Kai Havertz is named among the substitutes after picking up a finger injury last time out while youngster Harvey Vale will hope to get an opportunity to impress from the bench at some stage.
Here are the confirmed line-ups:
Chelsea
Bettinelli; Hudson-Odoi, Christensen, Sarr, Hall; Ziyech, Kovacic, Saul, Pulisic; Lukaku, Werner
Subs: Kepa, Simons, Baker, Barkley, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Webster, Havertz, Vale
Chesterfield
Loach, Kerr, Gunning, Croll, King, Weston, Oyeleke, Whittle, Khan, Kellermann, Tshimanga
Subs: Minter, Miller, Maguire, Asante, Mandeville, McCourt, Tyson, Grimes, Payne
