Thomas Tuchel has named both Mateo Kovacic and Romelu Lukaku in his Chelsea side for the FA Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley this afternoon.
That Kovacic is fit to start the game is a huge boost for the Blues. The 27-year-old suffered an ankle injury against Leeds United on Wednesday night, and Tuchel said a miracle was required for the midfielder to feature against Jurgen Klopp's side after that game. Well, that has come to fruition.
The decision to start Lukaku is another big one, although made easier by the fact Kai Havertz is not in the match-day squad. The Belgian striker has struggled for form for much of the campaign but has three goals in his previous two matches, and that has proved enough for him to keep his place in the starting XI, which is almost identical to the one that lined up at Elland Road in midweek.
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As was the case for the semi-final against Crystal Palace, Edouard Mendy starts in goal for Chelsea ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spaniard is named among the substitutes and will be hoping to be introduced if the game goes to a penalty shootout, as was the case when these two sides met in the Carabao Cup final in February.
Tuchel had a big decision to make as to who started on the right of the back three, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, and Trevoh Chalobah all in contention to start. But as was the case against Leeds United in midweek, the Chelsea head coach has opted for Chalobah.
Thiago Silva, as expected, returns in what is the only change to the Chelsea starting XI that began the contest at Elland Road on Wednesday night. Antonio Rudiger, who will depart at the end of the campaign for Real Madrid, starts on the left and the defence and will be hoping to sign off with a win.
Reece James continues at right wing-back, and Marcos Alonso is on the opposite flank. Both will be tasked with not only keeping Liverpool's attacking players quiet but also restricting the threat offered from wide areas by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.
Kovacic is in the midfield despite limping off less than 72 hours ago at Elland Road, and Tuchel has opted to partner the Croatian with Jorginho. N'Golo Kante, who was a doubt ahead of the game, is among the substitutes and will likely be called upon if Kovacic is unable to complete the 90 minutes.
After his goal and assist in midweek against Leeds, Mason Mount's place in the Chelsea side for today's final was guaranteed. And Christian Pulisic has done enough in his last two outings to take up his spot on the left of the attacking trio Tuchel has settled upon.
The biggest call the Blues head coach faced was who led his attack but Havertz being ruled out made the decision far easier. For Lukaku, it is a huge opportunity for the Belgian striker to fully turn around his season and justify the £97.5million fee Chelsea spent to bring him back to the club last summer from Inter Milan.
Chelsea: Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Lukaku, Pulisic
Chelsea substitutes: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Sarr, Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Barkley, Werner, Ziyech
