CHELSEA welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night with Thomas Tuchel set to ring the changes.
Edouard Mendy is still out but Timo Werner will start with Tuchel hinting Romelu Lukaku could play alongside the German.
Kepa played in the Blues’ 3-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday and will likely start between the sticks again.
There’s a chance Marcus Bettinelli could be given a chance but it’s unlikely with game time hard to come by for Kepa.
With limited defensive options, Tuchel will struggle to rest all his defenders so at least two of Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta are likely to play.
Ben Chilwell is likely to get a rare run out with in-form Marcos Alonso proving impossible to shift from the starting XI in the Premier League.
N’Golo Kante came off the bench at Tottenham and either him or Mateo Kovacic are the midfield choices alongside new signing Saul Niguez.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has had limited opportunities since his move to Borussia Dortmund fell through and could be used at right wing-back or an out-and-out winger.
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If Lukaku and Werner do play as a two up front, Hakim Ziyech is likely to slot in behind in the No 10 position.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Tuchel said: “Mendy cannot play tomorrow.
“He has not been in training so far so we will try to do everything for Saturday, to reintegrate him tomorrow for individual training and hopefully Thursday’s team training, but not yet.”
And the German confirmed his fellow countryman Werner is due a game.
He added: “Timo can play with Romelu, that is sure, and he did very well at Tottenham the last 25 to 30 minutes of the match.
“That gave us a clear impression of how dangerous these two can be together.
“There was some disappointment to brush off Timo’s shoulders from the Euros during the summer, and from the first games here I think he was not happy with the performances in the beginning.
“We were not absolutely happy because we know that he can be much more of an attacking threat than he was.
“But in the last training sessions he was more relaxed, more fluid in his movements with more confidence, and that’s why we put him on early against Tottenham because we saw his development.
“We had him in dangerous positions around Romelu, he was not too far out on the pitch, he was in and around the box and he had his chances, and the assist which was well done.
“In training he moves more freely and his decision-making is with more confidence.
“There are clear signs that he is in a good way, and I hope he can show and prove it tomorrow.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
