
After a crushing 5-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, Chelsea face a tough Premier League fixture at the weekend when they’ll take on a hell-for-leather Newcastle United team. The Magpies are one of the most ferocious pressing units in the league and will come up against some tired Blues legs from their midweek trip to Paris. Ahead of this fixture, the media conference provided an update on Estevao and his injury status for the fixture as the squad look light on wide attacking options during this tough stretch.
Liam Rosenior spoke to the press before the match and focused on two of his attacking options. He did note that Jamie Gittens is back involved, although there was no clarity on whether that means to start or from the bench. There was less positive news on the status of the Brazilian winger as the manager remarked that “Este is still a little further away”.
The second leg against PSG was mentioned as the next possible return point for the attacker who has been sidelined since the FA Cup tie with Hull City.
With Estevao unavailable for the Newcastle clash and the status of Gittens still up in the air it will continue asking a lot of the available winger options as Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, and Cole Palmer are left to try and share the workload. Garnacho was mostly rested in midweek after playing 120 minutes against Wrexham.
With rotation needed before the second leg there could be some strong use of substitutions with Neto and Garnacho likely to share the minutes on the left flank, clever use of Joao Pedro could see him slide into the number ten role to rest Palmer or Enzo Fernandez too.
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