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The January transfer window is in full swing at Chelsea with a few loan moves and of course the whole Ross Barkley situation happening, but we do have some football to pay attention to as well with tomorrow’s match at Carrow Road against Norwich City in the FA Cup third round.
Sandwiched between two ties against Arsenal, one in the league and the second in the League Cup, this game will be a great opportunity to rest, rotate, and recover the players for that midweek semifinal first leg contest coming up — especially players like Eden Hazard, who, as Conte revealed in his pre-match press conference, is dealing with a calf knock from Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at the Emirates.
Eden Hazard left the Emirates on Wednesday, slightly limping. Conte: “Hazard got a kick on his calf and
— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) January 5, 2018
he has to try to solve this problem.” #cfc pic.twitter.com/PHjpQUGnEG
Meanwhile, Conte also confirmed that David Luiz is in contention to make his return from injury, which should quiet some questions about his future.
“When you play every three days, especially after the Christmas period, you have to make many rotations. My idea is to continue like in the past because I trust and believe in my players but, for sure, we want to try to go through to the next round.
“David Luiz is ready and he will be in contention for tomorrow’s game. The only problem we have is Hazard because he had a kick in his calf and he has to try to sort this problem.”
-Antonio Conte; source: Chelsea FC
So, with that in mind, tomorrow is likely to see the return of the 3-4-3, minutes for Michy, and the curly haired one, with as many of the crucial first-team starters rested as possible.
3-4-3:
Caballero | Rudiger, David Luiz, Azpilicueta | Kenedy, Drinkwater, Ampadu, Zappacosta | Pedro, Batshuayi, Willian
The WAGNH community’s preference is almost exactly the same, but with Azpilicueta rather than Cahill getting rested in defence. Charly Musonda did get 53% of the vote, but there was no realistic way to fit him into the lineup.
3-4-3 (85%):
Caballero (88%) | Cahill (43%), David Luiz (82%), Rudiger (93%) | Kenedy (86%), Drinkwater (92%), Ampadu (72%), Zappacosta (83%) | Pedro (77%), Batshuayi (91%), Willian (62%)