Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly have all dropped team news hints ahead of Chelsea's clash with Manchester City in the FA Cup third round. The trio have posted pre-match graphic previews of the fixture to their respective Instagram stories.
The Premier League champions waltzed away 1-0 victors when the two sides last met earlier this week. The Blues did well to suppress the high-flying Erling Haaland, though it was Riyad Mahrez who broke the stalemate in controversial fashion.
Graham Potter has struggled to transform Chelsea's fortunes following the World Cup but, with three new signings already in the January transfer window, Todd Boehly will be hoping that his investments come to fruition. One of whom, Badiashile, has hinted that he could be involved against Pep Guardiola side; the young defender could give his new club the edge they need.
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Ahead of what is set to be tough afternoon, Potter was quizzed on whether there has been conversations inside the club that there might not be a trophy won this season. Speaking to football.london, the Blues boss said: Not especially, no. We try to go day to day improving, working on how we can get the team better.
"I acknowledge the team hasn’t functioned as well as we would like it to and there are lots of reasons for that. I can’t sit here and say I’m a perfect person so clearly I’ve not done everything completely right.
."At the same time, there are some factors that take into consideration where we’re at. That’s for other people to judge and have any perspective on or not. For me, it’s about how we can keep improving and at the end of the season, you assess what happened."
Potter revealed the support he feels from Todd Boehly despite the club's poor form. The Chelsea boss said: "I think this is the challenge for everybody. I don’t think I’d have left my previous job [at Brighton] if I didn’t feel there was a chance the owners would give us support.
"They are absolutely in line with where we’re at and what we’re trying to do. I’m more confident now that we can achieve things than I was when I started the job because I understand the club, the players, and what’s needed.
"Obviously, with the past at Chelsea and changes of management, you can see why the questions are being asked. But like I said, I’ve been here four months and if people are going to judge me on those terms – when you consider how many games we’ve had and the challenges we’ve had – that is fine.
"I can give you a counter-argument in terms of my career and in terms of what I’ve achieved, and people in the game that consider my quality. But I also know that people will dislike it for whatever reason. All I know is I’ve got the total support of the guys above, the players and the staff."
While Badiashile, Silva and Koulibaly posting graphic previews of the City fixture on their social media profiles does not necessarily mean both will start, it historically suggests that they will be involved in some capacity. Follow live coverage of the game in our blog here.
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