Thomas Tuchel has revealed to the media that a quartet of Chelsea players are definitely absent for their trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United on Thursday evening, while a further trio will need to be assessed on the day.
All of Mateo Kovacic, Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi are absent through injury, while Ross Barkley is set to miss the trip through illness.
Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger, who missed games against West Ham and Arsenal in the past week, joined in during training on Tuesday alongside fellow doubt Reece James.
Andreas Christensen is another that the German boss is waiting on, with the Dane suffering from illness, but Tuchel is hopeful that he will be able to take part.
Tuchel on injuries: “Kovacic, Chilwell and Hudson-Odoi will be out. Rudiger and Reece James were in training yesterday, hopefully they will give us another training session for the greenlight tomorrow. Same with Andreas who was sick, we hope. Ross Barkley is sick and won’t be in”
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) April 27, 2022
United also down to bare bones
Their opponents, meanwhile, are also down to barebones, with Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho the latest pair to pull up through injury and illness respectively.
They join Fred, Edinson Cavani, Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba on the absentee list, leaving Ralf Rangnick with just 14 senior players to choose from, including former Chelsea veteran duo Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata.
As a result, the Blues will surely be confident that despite their slump in form, they should be able to put a weakened Manchester United to the sword should Rudiger and Christensen both be able to be recalled to the side. The win would further cement their spot in third place, ahead of the chasing pair Arsenal and Tottenham.
Read more:
Ralf Rangnick reveals just 14 senior Manchester United players available for Chelsea clash amid injury crisis
Manchester United vs Chelsea betting tips: Premier League preview, predictions and odds
Chelsea’s latest videos
Our Most Vital Last-Minute Goals This Season | Ft. Pulisic, Harder, Havertz & More!
Both our Men & Women’s teams have fought until the very end this season,…
2022-04-26T15:00:36Z
Chelsea leave it late to take all three points v West Ham | Unseen Extra
Take a closer look at Chelsea’s 1-0 win against West Ham United at Stamford…
2022-04-25T18:14:58Z
Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 33 | 59 | 80 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 33 | 63 | 79 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 32 | 40 | 65 |
| 4 | Arsenal FC | 33 | 12 | 60 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 33 | 18 | 58 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 34 | 2 | 54 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 34 | 8 | 52 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 33 | 4 | 49 |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 34 | -15 | 43 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 32 | -4 | 42 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 34 | -11 | 41 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 34 | -8 | 40 |
| 13 | Southampton FC | 34 | -16 | 40 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 33 | 2 | 38 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 32 | -4 | 37 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 33 | -30 | 34 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 33 | -16 | 31 |
| 18 | Everton FC | 32 | -21 | 29 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 33 | -36 | 22 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 33 | -47 | 21 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 22 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 16 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 14 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 11 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 10 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 10 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 10 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 9 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 9 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 9 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 8 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 8 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 8 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 6 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 6 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 6 |
