Chelsea XI versus Crystal Palace: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news and injury updates
Chelsea will leave it late to evaluate whether Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile are fit for Monday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
Badiashile was forced off during Wednesday night’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round replay win over Aston Villa with groin pain, while Colwill has missed the Blues’ last four matches with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea will also welcome back Trevoh Chalobah, who is back in training after suffering a second recurrence of a hamstring injury he first sustained in August.
“Levi Colwill, we need to wait until Sunday to see whether it’s conceivable he’ll be available,” Pochettino stated in his news conference on Friday.
“Badiashile, we need to assess him—we need to wait for a scan. It’s not a big concern. I hope this afternoon we will know better about his status.
“We need to wait for a scan. [Trevoh] Chalobah is performing well with the team. Other than that, nothing to update at the moment.”
Chelsea still have six first-team players sidelined through injury. One of those is summer signing Romeo Lavia, and Pochettino stated it is “impossible” the former Southampton man can heal from his major thigh problem before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.
“Impossible,” Pochettino remarked of Lavia’s return arriving before that. “No, he is still not training with the team. His fitness problem is that he’s still not on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, the Argentine could play striker Nicolas Jackson on the left wing again after the Senegal forward’s goalscoring performance from that position against Villa. Crystal Palace vs Chelsea: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds
“His starting place was from the left, yes, but football is dynamic,” Pochettino added. “He always plays better when he is facing the goal rather than back-to-goal. The commitment [from him] is amazing.”
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