Injury return hint, Ivan Toney twist, Cole Palmer message
Pochettino sent Chelsea sack message
Former Chelsea and Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit does not believe Mauricio Pochettino will get the time he needs to turn Chelsea’s Premier League fortunes around. After suffering their fourth defeat of the season, against Brentford last Saturday, Chelsea currently sit in the bottom half of the table.
It has been a difficult start for the former Tottenham manager, who has overseen a massive squad overhaul and has battled injuries since the start of the season. Petit, who played for Chelsea between 2001 and 2004, has sympathised with the Chelsea boss.
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Chelsea's Palmer compared to De Bruyne
Former Chelsea winger Pet Nevin has compared Cole Palmer to a young Kevin De Bruyne. The England Under-21s international has enjoyed an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge after completing a £40million summer move from Manchester City.
Palmer, 21, has become a regular face in Mauricio Pochettino's side in recent weeks after coming off the bench in his first three games. After playing a huge role in the 2-0 win over Fulham last month, Palmer scored and assisted in the 4-1 win at Burnley before adding another against Arsenal.
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Napoli's Osimhen stance
Napoli haven't changed their stance on Victor Osimhen ahead of the January transfer window.
That's according to Fabrizio Romano, who told his YouTube channel that Chelsea may struggle to sign the forward. “What I’m told is that, at the moment, the position of Napoli for the January transfer window remains the same.
“They don’t want to sell Victor Osimhen in January, so not even a crazy bid, at the moment, is something that they would consider.”
How to watch tonight's game
Chelsea are back in Carabao Cup action this evening when they welcome Blackburn Rovers to Stamford Bridge in the fourth round.
The game will not be broadcasted live in England with Arsenal's trip to West Ham and Man United's home game with Newcastle selected for television.
football.london will also bring you dedicated coverage from Stamford Bridge from our very own Scott Trotter. There will be live coverage of the game as well as all the build-up and reaction as events unfold.
Predicted XI for Blackburn
The Carabao Cup is no stranger to seeing rotated sides. The first domestic cup competition of the season isn't always among the priorities of the country's top teams, but Mauricio Pochettino made it clear on Tuesday that he intends to use his best team against Blackburn Rovers.
The 51-year-old head coach confirmed on Tuesday that Blues captain Reece James would start against the Championship side, having made two substitute appearances as he returns from injury. So, Pochettino is set to make at least one change to his side for the visit of Jon Dahl Tomasson's men.
Chelsea's head coach has also added the caveat that he will not take any risks which means some players could be rested Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino said: "I told you before we started the season, I think a competition like the Carabao Cup or FA Cup is really important for us. Tomorrow we are going to try and play with our best team. Some players that maybe we need to rest because we need to do some rest because after Saturday's game, we cannot take some risk. In general we are going to try to put our our best team."
Mykhailo Mudryk remains out of contention for the fixture, with the Ukraine international possibly able to return in time for the Premier League match against Tottenham, but Enzo Fernandez is once again available having returned to training. The Blues have eight players set to miss the match.
EFL Cup winner odds
Chelsea face Blackburn tonight in the Carabao Cup round of 16. The latest winner odds from Betfair can be found below.
Betfair: EFL Cup winner 2023/24
Liverpool 3/1
Arsenal 7/2
Man Utd 4/1
Chelsea, Newcastle 5/1
West Ham 16/1
Fulham 18/1
Everton 25/1
Abraham interest
Aston Villa have reportedly revived their interest in AS Roma striker Tammy Abraham.
According to Calciomercato, the former Chelsea man is on the transfer list for the January transfer window. The report claims the England international is being tracked by Chelsea, Brentford and West Ham.
Abraham has not made a single appearance this season.
Goalkeeper dilemma
Chelsea are reportedly keen to sign a new goalkeeper in January, despite signing Robert Sanchez in the summer.
That's according to TEAMtalk, who claim a number one is being "sought by Chelsea" to replace Sanchez.
Valencia's Giorgi Mamardashvili and Porto's Diogo Costa have been players linked, with Arsenal's Aaron Raamsdale another player they are keeping tabs on.
Carragher prediction!
In a column for the EFL, Carragher backed Chelsea to storm past Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night. The former Liverpool defender said: "I hope Chelsea win this one. They look like they’re just getting it together now this season under the manager Poch and I think they’ll win that comfortably against Blackburn Rovers."
And then on Arsenal, who face West Ham at the London Stadium, Carragher added: "This one’s a big one. It depends on what teams get put out because I’m not sure the changes West Ham will make with them being in the Europa League as well, so I’m going to go for West Ham on penalties. I think it’ll be a really tight game and Arsenal will make a few changes."
Toney price tag...
According to the Evening Standard, Brentford are willing to sell Ivan Toney in January and have set a price tag of £80million. The striker will be in the final 18 months of his contract when he is free to play again on January 17.
Despite already spending more than £1billion under owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake, Chelsea are prepared to enter the market again if their goalscoring problems persist. Arsenal are weighing up whether to bolster their forward line to boost their title bid and the availability of a proven goalscorer could spark a bidding war between the London rivals.
Brentford hope foreign clubs could enter the race but, as things stand, Arsenal and Chelsea are the frontrunners to sign the 27-year-old.
Supporters Group meeting
The Wolves 1877 Supporters Trust have called for the Premier League to reschedule the controversial Christmas Eve fixture with Chelsea this year.
“We’re going to have a meeting with the Premier League on Thursday, where we’re going to call for it to be scrapped,” chairman of the trust, Dan Warren, told BirminghamLive.
“The annoying thing about this is that there’s been no consultation with fan groups. We contacted the Premier League - the FSA and the two club trusts - on the Saturday (October 21) after it was leaked. We asked for a conversation to discuss it before it was confirmed.
“They responded to us an hour before they made the formal announcement. This game should be played on Saturday. Christmas Eve is not for football. We’re talking the best part of 28 years since a top division game has been played on Christmas Eve. We’re currently consulting about ways we can protest this decision."
Chilwell update
Mauricio Pochettino has provided a fresh update on Ben Chilwell as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury. The Chelsea defender suffered a knock in the dying embers of Chelsea's clash with Brighton in the Carabao Cup at the end of September.
When asked for a return date ahead of the Blues' meeting with Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night, Pochettino said: "I can not tell you [when he will be back]. It is difficult to know. He is away from the training ground now and we will wait for him to come back to see the situation. Hopefully he can recover as soon as possible."
With Chilwell out for an extended period, Pochettino confirmed that the Chelsea ace was granted time away from Cobham training ground as part of his rehabilitation programme. He's recently been spotted relaxing in Los Angeles which has divided opinion among Blues fans.
Good morning!
Good morning and welcome to football.london's dedicated blog for all things Chelsea! Stay with us as we bring you all the latest Blues news and transfer gossip ahead of the Blackburn Rovers tie...
