How should injury-hit Chelsea line up against West Ham on less than 72 hours rest?
04/05/2024 08:58
Chelsea vs. West Ham, Premier League: You choose the starting lineup
Chelsea are back in action less than 72 hours after Thursday night's excellent win against Tottenham Hotspur. That would be barely enough rest in normal circumstances, but with over a dozen players on the injury list, our threadbare squad could get quite overstressed in these last couple weeks of the season (still four games to play in the next two weeks).
It's a concern first and foremost on Mauricio Pochettino's mind, as we look to make it back-to-back wins at home against London rivals.
"We are playing a team who are so strong, have physicality and West Ham are having a fantastic season and have been competing in Europe. For us, we need to recover the players. We do not have too many options to add fresh people to the squad and they have had the whole week to prepare."
-Mauricio Pochettino; source: Chelsea FC
Friday's training session did see Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku involved in gym work and Raheem Sterling being involved out on the grass, but it doesn't sound like any of the three are quite ready to make their returns.
And even youngsters Jimi Tauriainen and Leo Castledine have picked up injuries, forced off in the under-21 squad's 5-4 win over Brighton in the PL2 title playoff quarterfinals.
