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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that four key players will be unavailable for their clash against West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Chelsea returned to winning ways against Watford in a hard-fought 2-1 victory on Wednesday. This came after they had dropped two points against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Against Manchester United, Jorginho was at fault for conceding an easy chance to Jadon Sancho. The England international scored his first Premier League goal ever against the Blues.
However, the European footballer of the year redeemed himself after scoring the equalizing penalty when Thiago Silva was tripped in the box. Chelsea followed it up with an away victory over Watford. Mason Mount scored a 30th minute opener as Hakim Ziyech restored their lead in the 72nd minute.
Chelsea have now won three of their last four games across all competitions. They have an easier set of domestic fixtures before Liverpool visit them on January 2nd, 2022.
They face West Ham United on Saturday in the Premier League. Thomas Tuchel revealed that N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell are all out for the match.
Chelsea are in a strong position on all fronts despite injury troubles
Chelsea have had more than their fair share of injury troubles this season. Romelu Lukaku has only recently returned to training and came on as a substitute against both Manchester United and Watford. Ben Chilwell’s injury was initially feared to be season-ending and it could be as well. He is currently out for six weeks. But if he requires surgery after six weeks, he could well be out for the season.
Meanwhile N’Golo Kante’s absence was felt especially during the draw against the Red Devils.
However, Thomas Tuchel will not be worried. Chelsea have performed at a high level despite missing several players and had an off-day with their finishing against United. They have one of the most fearsome starting XIs and a plethora of options across positions.
Chelsea’s impressive start to the season has come without their high-profile summer signing Lukaku. Right-back Reece James is still leading the team’s scoring charts with five goals and five assists across all competitions.
Their starting centre-backs in the form of Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger have maintained the best defense in Europe's top five leagues this season.
In such a scenario, it is only a matter of time before their attackers start scoring goals as well. Chelsea have a range of options across attacking positions, with Kai Havertz recently starting against Watford as a centre-forward.
Timo Werner is fit while Lukaku is also expected to make his first start since returning from injury at the weekend.
Chelsea’s lead at the top over Manchester City has been sliced to just a single point. However, they have no reason to worry and are one of the biggest contenders across competitions this season as well.
