Chelsea have hinted that third choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli will start in goal for the club when Plymouth Argyle visit Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup this weekend.
The Blues cruised past Chesterfield in the third round last time out, strolling to a 5-1 thrashing in west London, and they will be hoping for a repeat against League One Plymouth.
Bettinelli was given a rare run-out in goal against the Spireites and will be hoping to retain his place for the next round clash as Thomas Tuchel looks to add more silverware to his collection.
On Monday, the Blues dropped a significant hint that the former Fulham shot-stopper would get his way as well.
Taking to Twitter, Chelsea shared a graphic as part of the promotion of the fixture.
Any number of first-team stars could have been chosen to feature, but Bettinelli was growing, thus dropping a pretty big hint that he would be starting once again in the cup.
Bettinelli was one of just three players brought in by Tuchel during the summer transfer window, joining as a free agent, with loanee Saul Niguez and Romelu Lukaku also coming to west London around the same time.
The 29-year-old is continuing to benefit from Edouard Mendy's absence while he is away with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, with Kepa Arrizabalaga temporarily promoted to first-choice at the Bridge.
But Bettinelli has previously spoken about his role, and knew what he was getting himself into.
"Of course, I always knew what my role would be but Hilario made it clear when I signed that he wants me to improve and they’ve certainly helped me do that," he told the club website back at the start of January.
"Like I said when I joined in the summer, I’m ready for whatever is asked of me.
"Whatever’s happened this season, I’ve always tried to be involved and use my voice as a weapon and an attribute with the lads in the changing room so that won’t change."
