by Chelsea travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday in what vows to be an engaging London derby. Graham Potter will be anxious to get the principal win of his tenure, particularly as the west Londoners presently sit seventh in the Chief Association table, eight points behind early pioneers, Arsenal.
The international break will have given the previous Brighton manager an opportunity to summon an arrangement to guide Chelsea back to winning ways, yet Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace have shown to be a troublesome group to separate during his experience as the Eagles’ manager.
Potter has various injury issues to battle with, be that as it may. Marc Cucurella has been precluded through ailment, while N’Golo Kante isn’t prepared to get back to the squad right now. Talking about the two’s non-appearance on Friday, Chelsea’s manager said: “They’re fine as far as getting through the recovery stages and ‘NG’ has been on the grass. Perhaps one week from now for him. Piece of ailment for Marc Cucurella.”
Potter also confirmed Chelsea youngster Carney Chukwuemeka is unavailable for the match at Selhurst Park. The new Chelsea head coach is facing an extremely busy October period with the Blues in action nine times over the month. Nevertheless, it’s something that Potter is relishing and he has said he will not complain about more time on the pitch.
“We’ve got six weeks and 13 matches, using the players the right way and winning matches in the toughest league in the world,” Potter added. “That’s the challenge in the short term. It’s a challenge. It’s what I have to deal with and we have to be smart with how we work. In a world with lots of challenges, you don’t want to hear me complaining about less time on the pitch.”
With that all in mind, let’s take a look at the squad available to Potter for Saturday afternoon.
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli.
Defenders: Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Malang Sarr, Trevoh Chalobah.
Midfielders: Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Denis Zakaria.
Forwards: Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
