Two Chelsea top players to miss Crystal Palace game
Two Chelsea top players to miss Crystal Palace game
Two Chelsea top players to miss Crystal Palace game
Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has confirmed that N’Golo Kante and Marc Cucurella will miss Saturday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace (October 1).
Kante, 31, recently returned to training after injuring his hamstring in the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Tottenham on August 21. In the current Premier League season, he has only started two games.
Cucurella, on the other hand, has made eight appearances for the Graham Potter-coached side this season across all competitions. The left-back, who joined from Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this summer for £62 million, has missed the last two Premier League games.
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Potter was asked about the health of his players during a pre-match press conference on Friday. He responded as follows (via Football London):
“They’re doing well in terms of rehabilitation, and Kante has been on the grass. Perhaps next week for him. Marc Cucurella has fallen ill.”
The Blues fired Thomas Tuchel after 20 months in charge earlier this month and hired Potter as their new manager on a five-year contract.
On September 14, Potter led the west London club to a 1-1 draw against Red Bull Salzburg at Stamford Bridge in their second UEFA Champions League Group E match.
When asked if his 23-day wait for his first Premier League match as Chelsea manager was good or bad, Potter replied:
“If I’m being honest, it’s probably a little of both. I spent some time getting to know people, but we’re all eager to play. We couldn’t do anything about how things turned out, so we had to make the best of it.”
Sharing his thoughts on the upcoming challenge, he added:
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“We have six weeks and 13 matches to use the players correctly and win matches in the world’s toughest league. That is the short-term challenge.”
Chelsea is currently seventh in the 2022-23 Premier League table, with 10 points from six games and eight goals scored.
Paul Merson forecasts the outcome of the upcoming Chelsea-Crystal Palace match.
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson discussed the Blues’ upcoming match in his Sportskeeda column. He stated:
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“A game against Crystal Palace away from home is always challenging. I feel bad for Graham Potter, who has had no one at the club for several weeks and now has very little time to get the team to play the way he wants them to.”
“This is a risky game, but I’m picking Chelsea to win.
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