Chelsea will be forced into making changes, with Cole Palmer the biggest miss on a big night at the Emirates as they face Arsenal. Mauricio Pochettino will have some critical selection decisions for the clash between Chelsea and Arsenal on Tuesday, with Cole Palmer likely to miss out on this big London Derby. A few others are on the sidelines, and the manager knows the importance of this game and will have wanted his important stars available for this run-in.
Pochettino was asked about Palmer's potential unavailability due to an illness during his pre-match press conference. The young attacker matched Erling Haaland's tally of 20 strikes this term with his four-goal show against Everton. The Chelsea boss also spoke about more absentees like Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell, with the duo probably missing many weeks of action.
Palmer reportedly has an illness that might cause him to either miss the Arsenal game completely or probably make it to the bench. As for Pochettino's talk with the media, he ruled him out but did mention a late assessment of his top-scorer ahead of the game.
Pochettino said, "We need to assess tomorrow (Tuesday) morning but today I don't believe he can be involved. We need to assess tomorrow and then decide. Even if he is feeling better tomorrow, maybe he is not in a condition to play. We hope he recovers from this situation and can be involved again as soon as possible."
"With or without Cole we always believe we can win. The most important thing is the team and the collective. He is an important part of the team and is doing fantastic for us, but we are Chelsea and we have plenty of players that can perform and do the job."
Meanwhile, Pochettino also updated on the statuses of Gusto and Chilwell, with the full-back duo likely to miss considerable time due to their problems.
On Gusto and Chilwell, Pochettino continued, "I am not a doctor but I try to translate what is going on. Malo suffered a problem with a ligament in his knee, we hope it's not a big issue. Chilly has the same problem he has suffered in the last few weeks [with his knee) after being with the national team."
There are many more out of contention, but most have barely featured for Chelsea this season, including Christopher Nkunku and Reece James. Other than that, Pochettino will likely make some tweaks to his setup and use Axel Disasi in that right-back role vacated by Gusto.
He might also play 39-year-old Thiago Silva in a short span, as the veteran Brazilian will start alongside Trevoh Chalobah at the heart of the Chelsea defence. Marc Cucurella will occupy the left-back berth, while Djordje Petrovic remains the firm choice between the sticks.
With Palmer potentially missing out, Conor Gallagher could move into the attacking midfield space, with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo handling the midfield duties. Raheem Sterling could come into the side and feature on the left wing, with Noni Madueke the likely choice on the right, as Nicolas Jackson leads the line for Chelsea.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Petrovic; Disasi, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson
