Di Blues don get good news ahead of dia final match of di season against Sunderland. Interim head coach Calum McFarlane don confirm say three key players fit to feature for di trip to Stadium of Light.
McFarlane yarn with journalists for Cobham on Friday afternoon, and e say Levi Colwill and Joao Pedro don train on Friday, and e dey hopeful say dem go fit play on Sunday. Reece James, wey dem rest for di win against Tottenham for midweek, also fit and ready to go.
“Joao and Levi both trained today and that’s really promising,” McFarlane tok. “We have another day of training tomorrow, so we will see how they are after that but we’re hopeful they’ll both be fit for Sunday.”
Di boss also clear say James no play against Spurs because dem just dey manage im minutes. “Reece trained today and we’ll play it day by day with him,” McFarlane explain. “He’s fit and in a good condition but we know that we’ve had to manage Reece correctly over the last few games. He obviously played a lot of minutes in the FA Cup final, which was a tough game against a really good side so it was going to take a lot out of him, so we didn’t want to risk him on Tuesday.”
Di match against Sunderland get big implications for Chelsea. Di Blues currently dey eighth for Premier League table, level on points with Brentford. If dem win and Brighton drop points against Manchester United, Chelsea fit still grab Europa League football. If not, dem fit end up for Conference League or even miss Europe completely if dem no match Brentford result against Liverpool.
Xabi Alonso go take over as permanent manager for July, so this match be di last chance for McFarlane to lead di team. Di interim boss dey hope to finish di campaign on a high note.
For di team selection, Robert Sanchez dey expected to start for goal, especially after dem include am for Spain World Cup squad. James go likely start as right-back, while Colwell fit partner Wesley Fofana for centre-back. Marc Cucurella go complete di back four.
For midfield, Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos don form strong partnership for recent games. Di attacking trio of Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, and Neto also dey expected to start again. For striker, Joao Pedro fit start if e pass fitness test, but Liam Delap, wey no score for last 15 Premier League appearances, dey available as option.
Joao Pedro don be revelation for Chelsea dis season, scoring 20 goals for all competitions and winning di club Player of di Season award. However, Barcelona don show interest for di Brazil international, and dia sporting director Deco no rule out making offer for am for summer.
Alejandro Garnacho, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Liam Delap also dey among players wey fit leave Stamford Bridge for summer transfer window.
Di match go kick off for Sunday afternoon, and Chelsea dey determined to secure European football for next season.
Do you have a news tip for NNN? Please email us at editor @ nnn.ng
