Football managers are often faced with tough decisions when it comes to picking starting lineups, as they have to juggle various considerations to keep everyone happy, to come up with a viable tactical plan, and of course to keep the team winning. That’s assuming they have a full squad to choose from of course.
Frank Lampard does not quite have that luxury. While injuries are a fact of sporting life, with an injury list a Premier League-leading nearly double-digits long and most on it part of what we might consider our first-choice starting XI, Lampard’s not exactly swimming in options these days.
Mateo Kovacic and Willian are the two latest names on the list, though Willian’s Achilles tweak is apparently minor enough to make him a game-time decision. Kovacic is out however, and thus joins N’Golo Kante, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Tammy Abraham in the stands. Jorginho will also be there, thanks to his two-match ban for yellow card accumulation.
In better news, there’s a very small chance that either Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Christian Pulisic could be available. Ruben should be fit for the bench at least, hopefully. Andreas Christensen was ruled out of Tuesday’s game thanks to a minor knock, but should be back available for Sunday.