Chelsea will aim to inch closer to a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals when they lock horns with Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 first leg at Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. Liam Rosenior has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Levi Colwill is a long-term absentee, with the English international recovering from a knee injury that will keep him in the treatment room for the foreseeable future. While Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens are closing in on returning from their hamstring issues, Wednesday’s game may have come too soon for the attacking duo, who have not travelled to Paris.
Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable after failing a doping test over a year ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Rosenior did not provide fitness updates on any player. However, the English tactician discussed his squad’s team selection woes.
The Chelsea head coach said, “With this squad, every position is a difficult decision. That is how it has to be to be successful. We have a squad full of top, top players – not even the starting XI, making a decision of who is on the bench is difficult. That’s the job I’m here to do.”
“So we’ll make that decision on the goalkeeper position as we would in terms of the number nine, ten or seven. I’ve said before, the goalkeeper position is no different to an outfield position. I’ll pick what I think is the right choice for each game and you’ll see what decision I make tomorrow when the team sheet comes out.”
“In my time I’ve tried to manage the minutes, the training load we do, the intensity we train with. A lot of staff have had an input to that and we’ve worked collaboratively in terms of that. The idea is that in these moments, the crunch games, we are as strong as possible.”
Filip Jorgensen should get the nod over Robert Sanchez, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against PSG on Wednesday. The backline will feature Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for the away side against PSG, with Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Andrey Santos; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Pedro Neto; Joao Pedro
