Graham Potter has made seven starts to his Chelsea side for this evening's Carabao Cup third-round clash against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
After a disappointing run of results, victory for the Blues would be a welcome boost for Graham Potter and his players, even against a much-changed City side. Yet the Chelsea head coach hasn't been afraid to rotate with an important Premier League match against Newcastle United to come at the weekend.
Edouard Mendy continues in goal for Chelsea with Kepa Arrizabalaga ruled out with plantar fasciitis. On the bench is Marcus Bettinelli while the third-choice stopper for this evening – although not among the substitutes – is the Development Squad's first-choice goalkeeper Eddie Beach.
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Trevoh Chalobah, as he has done throughout the past month, starts on the right of what is expected to be a three-man defence. Kalidou Koulibaly is back in the side and set to occupy the middle centre-back role with Marc Cucurella moving in from wing-back to complete the trio.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek continues in the side but is set to move out to right wing-back, a position he played semi-regularly under Thomas Tuchel. On the opposite flank, there is a second Chelsea appearance for youngster Lewis Hall, who made his debut in last season's FA Cup against Chesterfield. Tonight's match is a far bigger test.
Denis Zakaria, after an impressive outing last week against Dinamo Zagreb, returns to the midfield and is set to partner Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian has been nursing a knee injury throughout the campaign and didn't start against Arsenal at the weekend. However, he is deemed fit enough this evening.
There is a new-look attack with Armando Broja starting for just the second time. The Albania international has impressed and has more than earned his opportunity. It's a similar story for Christian Pulisic while the frontline is completed by Hakim Ziyech, who has struggled for minutes under Potter.
Chelsea: Mendy; Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Zakaria, Hall; Ziyech, Broja, Pulisic.
Chelsea substitutes: Bettinelli, Azpilicueta, Silva, Gallagher, Mount, Hutchinson, Sterling, Aubameyang, Havertz
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