Chelsea FC XI vs Chesterfield: Starting lineup, confirmed team news, Covid and injury latest for FA Cup today

Chelsea have Andreas Christensen back to ease their defensive injury woes ahead of this evening’s FA Cup third round meeting with non-league Chesterfield.

Chelsea are without N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva, who both tested positive for Covid-19 in midweek.

Tuchel has made a number of changes to the side, with Hudson-Odoi starting at wing-back, Timo Werner returning to the side, and Lewis Hall getting a start.

The Chelsea boss had this to say midweek on the challenges of his team selection.

“We have to find the balance because we also want to be reliable, be fair to the guys who play after injuries and Covid,” he said. “I think we have five substitutions which give us a lot of options, which is good.

“Of course, we want to use the match to get some minutes into the guys who desperately need it and want it. Like Timo for example. But there is still another training session, there are still one or two more Covid tests. Hopefully, the situation stays as it is now.

“Then we will find a strong line-up and show all the respect to the team and club of Chesterfield. It is the FA Cup and if we want to go to the next round we have to win this match. Nothing else.”

Tuchel added: “We can lose any game in football. That’s why the game is so popular. You will never hear me say we can’t lose before a game. This would be hugely arrogant.

“This is not the attitude with which we want to approach the game tomorrow. Of course, we are favourites.

“[It is] the opposite to Germany where we would switch the home advantage to the lower team. We have the advantage of no travel and playing in front of our spectators in our home stadium.

“Yes, we are the huge favourites. We want to win and we demand it from ourselves. Still, we respect the game and the opponent. You can demand it from yourself but if you think it through, you need a performance to deliver.

“We need to be ready, have a strong squad, a squad that’s ready to enjoy these minutes because if you want to reach the next round. You need to win and this is as boring as it is but it is like this.”

Chelsea XI: Bettinelli, Hudson-Odoi, Christensen, Sarr, Hall, Ziyech, Kovacic, Saul, Pulisic, Lukaku, Werner

Subs: Kepa, Simons, Baker, Barkley, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Webster, Havertz, Vale

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