Graham Potter has confirmed the Chelsea team news to face RB Salzburg in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Chelsea head into the Group E still unbeaten since Potter took charge at the start of September, which has seen the 47-year-old win five of his first eight games in charge.
They currently see themselves at the top of Group E following back-to-back wins over AC Milan to move them ahead of Milan and Salzburg. Chelsea now need just one win from their final two games to secure their progression into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The sides couldn’t be separated last month at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture, but with Chelsea having more time to work with Potter, they will fancy themselves to collect all three points at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night in Austria.
Advert
But they will continue to be without Wesley Fofana (knee), Reece James (knee) and N’Golo Kante (hamstring) due to injury.
Kalidou Koulibaly missed the weekend’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United due to a knock he picked up against Brentford and missed training at Cobham on Monday morning which saw him not join the squad in flying to Austria.
"He just felt his knee at the back end of the game against Brentford,” admitted Potter on Saturday. “It's not too bad, but it's too soon for him to play in this game."
READ MORE: Confirmed 21-man travelling Chelsea squad for Champions League clash vs RB Salzburg
Koulibaly was not named on the 21-man travelling squad list to Austria, and Potter is hoping he will be ready to return later this week after revealing Tuesday's game came too early for the Senegalese defender.
Advert
In his pre-match press conference, Potter admitted: "It's not too serious but this game was too soon for him. We're hoping to get him on the grass Wednesday or Thursday."
Meanwhile, Marc Cucurella has been recovering from illness in recent weeks and was brought off after 35 minutes against Manchester United on Saturday when it was goalless.
But Potter has insisted it was purely a tactical decision and that the Spaniard is feeling a lot better than in previous weeks when he was absent.
The 47-year-old added: "He has had a bit of illness but he is now a lot better. The reason for coming off against Manchester United was purely tactical."
The travelling 21-man Chelsea squad to Austria to face RB Salzburg is as follows:
Advert
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy, Marcus Bettinelli
Defenders: Marc Cucurella, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Cesar Azpilicueta
Midfielders: Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Denis Zakaria, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka
Forwards: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Graham Potter, Chelsea, Champions League, Red Bull Salzburg, Kalidou Koulibaly
