Chelsea face Nottingham Forest in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The Blues are expected to win this match with ease and comfort but they will not want to pick up any unwanted injuries or lose their star players to fatigue with a difficult set of fixtures coming up towards the end of the month.
The Blues were disappointing in their goalless draw with Arsenal at the weekend, so a strong performance by some of the squad’s lesser lights may give them a chance of featuring in the Premier League clash with Stoke on Saturday.
Here is Chelsea’s line up prediction vs Nottingham Forest:
Goalkeeper:
Willy Caballero – The 35-year-old joined the Blues after he was released by Manchester City and will be hoping to play his first game for the club with Courtois featuring in every game so far.
Defence:
Jake Clarke-Salter (RCB) – With Fikayo Tomori being loaned out to Hull City, it is an opportunity for this youngster to get few chances in a season of fixture congestion for the Blues and he will be looking to make the most of those chances.
Andreas Christensen (CB) – The Dane has already featured 5 times for Conte this season and is expected to deputise in absence of the suspended Luiz.
Antonio Rudiger (LCB) – The German defender was not played against Arsenal wit Cahill back in the side which means that he will be most likely playing this game from the start.
Midfield:
Davide Zappacosta (RWB) – The marauding wingback was impressive against Qarabag and will be hoping to make another strong statement in his quest to dislodge Moses as the first choice.
Tiemoue Bakayoko (CM) – Made an instant impact after coming on against Arsenal. He will be hoping he can impress Conte further as he looks to make the starting spot his own.
Kyle Scott (CM) – The youngster stayed back with the Blues in a season that saw so many others leave. He has been handed a senior team shirt recently and might get this start to prove his mettle.
Kennedy (LWB) – The Brazilian who caused the huge controversy in China will be making his first appearance as Marcos Alonso needs to be rested.
Attack:
Charly Musonda (RW) – The tricky winger is full of skills and is highly rated by many. He will want to make an impression in what could be his first start at Stamford Bridge.
Michy Batshuayi (CF) – The Belgian scored against Qarabag but did not impress as much as he would like. Yet another chance presents itself.
Eden Hazard (LW)Â – Conte has already announced that he will start. He will be hoping to get some key minutes under the belt before the big games at the end of the month.
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