Chelsea face Arsenal at the Emirates in just under an hour, and the teams are in!
We knew this was going to be a weakened side because of the warnings from Mauricio Pochettino’s press conference yesterday, and as expected there are some key players missing out. The boss makes four changes to the side that lost to Man City in the FA Cup semi final on Saturday.
Malo Gusto looked to pick up a knock in that game, and he is replaced at right back by Alfie Gilchrist, who will be buzzing for this London derby. In the middle, Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile replace Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva – we didn’t expect those changes. Both Silva and Chalobah are on the bench, with a host of youngsters.
In midfield, poor Enzo Fernandez has to solider on despite the injury that is apparently holding him back. He plays with his usual sidekicks Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo.
The most brutal news of all is that Cole Palmer is out, finally run into the ground by our punishing schedule. That means Mykhailo Mudryk comes in to play on the left, with Noni Madueke on the right and Nicolas Jackson up top.
This is very much a half strength team when you think about it. How many of these players would make our strongest XI, with a full squad fit? Barely half of them. But they go into this game with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
This is a very effective and efficient Arsenal team, and we don’t have high hopes – but just think how glorious it would be to end their race for the title in their backyard tonight. We’re getting tingly just thinking about it.
Here are the full team line-ups for Arsenal vs Chelsea (kick off at 20:00 GMT)
CHELSEA:
Your Tuesday night team news is here! 🗞️@ParimatchUK | #CFC | #CheEve pic.twitter.com/4cKqA1cCFj
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 23, 2024
testtttt