Thomas Tuchel has revealed that it is "very likely" to be one of Romelu Lukaku or Kai Havertz who starts against Liverpool, rather than playing both forwards. The Blues head coach is facing a bit of a selection headache ahead of Saturday afternoon's FA Cup final with the Reds.
Havertz has been Chelsea's main striker for the majority of the second half of the season, but there's been a bit of a resurgence from Lukaku of late. The 29-year-old striker was handed a rare Premier League start against Wolves last weekend and he marked his appearance with a double at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku was then given the nod by Tuchel for Wednesday evening's 3-0 win against Leeds United, where he netted the final goal of the match at Elland Road. Havertz came on late against Wolves but was an unused substitute in the win at Leeds a few days ago.
READ MORE: Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea vs Liverpool, FA Cup final, Kovacic, Kante, Lukaku
One of the big questions going into Saturday's final at Wembley is whether Tuchel starts Lukaku or Havertz, or even both. The Chelsea head coach was asked about the subject in his pre-match press conference but refused to give too much away, understandably.
"Yes, we can also play both, although they lacked a bit of the feeling of being a perfect fit together," Tuchel explained. "It's very likely that it is one of the two but we will not give the line-up today.
"Listen, Romelu played lately and scored lately. He did everything to stay on the pitch. Will be our final call in the morning."
Chelsea have a poor recent record in FA Cup finals, with the Blues reaching four of the last five, but winning just once (2017-18: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United). Tuchel was asked about the side's struggles in this particular stage of this specific competition.
He said: "If I knew I would change it. I don't know. I can only say that last year was with me in the final against Leicester. And we will try it again.
"First of all, it's a big achievement to be in these finals and there has to be unfortunately a loser. In these finals, there is a special energy, a special atmosphere. There is a special momentum you have to catch and for sure, you need a piece of luck to go away with a trophy.
"We are aware of that. We feel again well prepared. The atmosphere is right. The momentum is okay after the reaction in Leeds.
"Everybody knows what we are up to. We want to arrive to give Liverpool a hard fight. I don't know if there is one reason it is like this."
