CHELSEA can secure their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League by avoiding defeat against Juventus on Tuesday night.
Thomas Tuchel’s side currently sit three points behind the Serie A giants in Group H with two rounds of group games remaining.
And while defending champions Chelsea are almost certainly through to the last 16 already – they sit six points above Zenit St Petersburg – they can move mathematically out of sight with a draw at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel has given an update on a number of his players’ fitness concerns ahead of the game.
Romelu Lukaku will not start but could feature from the bench for the first time since he was injured during Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Malmo last month.
Kai Havertz looks set to miss out due to a hamstring issue, with Mateo Kovacic also still sidelined.
But Timo Werner is available for the Juventus clash after being included as an unused sub in the win over Leicester.
And Jorginho also appears to be fit despite being hauled off at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking about Lukaku in his pre-match press conference, Tuchel said: “He has, right now in the next minutes, an appointment with the doctors and physios right now to see about his reaction and the next training.
“Maybe if we have the chance to bring 20 players into the squad, he has the chance to be in the squad (team) for the last minutes. That would be the absolute maximum that we could get out of the situation right now.”
On Jorginho, he added: “Jorgi [Jorginho] is absolutely OK. Kai [Havertz] felt a bit of tension in the hamstrings and we took him off, and we have some doubts with him. We have to check and see if he can train without any problems. This is the question mark.
“Timo [Werner] feels good and was in training yesterday and is in the squad again. Mateo Kovacic is out, and that’s it.”
INJURY RAVAGED JUVE
Premier League leaders Chelsea were handed their first defeat of the season by Juventus in September as Federico Chiesa’s goal handed Max Allegri’s side a 1-0 victory.
But this time around the Serie A side are riddled with injuries coming into the huge European tussle.
Giorgio Chiellini, Mattia de Sciglio, Federico Bernardeschi, Danilo and Aaron Ramsey are all sidelined with fitness problems.
But one positive for the Italian giants is Paulo Dybala looks set to be available for the game.
Juventus have won all four of their Champions League games so far this season, a feat only Liverpool, Ajax and Bayern Munich have been able to match.
But their Serie A form has been nowhere near the results they have accumulated in Europe.
Allegri’s men currently sit eighth in the Italian top flight with just six wins from their opening 13 games.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
