Thomas Tuchel will be gearing his Chelsea side up for the challenge of London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday. The Blues currently sit in third, seemingly too far from a Premier League title challenge by the end of the season.
It means the German coach will be looking over his shoulder at the chasing pack, looking to secure a top four finish at the very least. As it stands, his side are five points clear of Tottenham in fourth with two games in hand.
There’s then an even bigger gap to Manchester United in fifth and Arsenal in sixth, who are both level on points and eight behind third. A win over the Gunners on Wednesday could extend that gap to 11 with seven remaining for the Blues.
READ MORE: Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea vs Arsenal, takeover, Kovacic, James, Chalobah, Lukaku
Despite some suggesting the gap is comfortable, Tuchel said things can change quickly in his pre-match press conference: “We will fight hard. We have a crucial four matches coming in a short period of time with Arsenal, West Ham, Man United and Everton. These are crucial matches for us given the task and what we don't want to achieve.
“It's a big challenge physically but mentally to dive into the main competition that is Premier League. It seems like things are pretty safe but things can change so, so quickly. We want to demand it from the team and it is challenging for everybody, but at the same time, it's what you sign up for when you sign up for Chelsea.”
Having played two cup games in quick succession, switching to another league game so soon after may be a challenge. It could mean that the manager has to rely on his whole squad to contribute towards the next run of fixtures.
Luckily, there is a near-full squad at his disposal for the game, with only three first-team players expected to miss out:
Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell is a long-term absentee, having injured his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee some months ago. He will miss the rest of the season, but Tuchel did confirm that he is stepping up his recovery.
“Ben Chilwell out for the game. And some players in doubt who we need to examine. Ben will be able to join in team training with the youth, this will be his next step in the weeks and hopefully, he can join our training at the end of the season.”
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Another who has struggled with a longer-term issue is Callum Hudson-Odoi. The academy graduate has been dealing with an achilles concern for some time now, with the manager saying they will take it “day by day”.
“Callum [Hudson-Odoi] out of the game… With Callum, it's day by day but not possible to join team training.”
Mateo Kovacic
Mateo Kovacic is the final of the three players that are definitely not available for the clash. The Croatian midfielder rolled his ankle in the opening minutes of the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at the weekend, leaving Wembley with heavy strapping on his foot.
Tuchel discussed the severity of the injury and said: “Kova [Kovacic] is out of the game, ligament injury. Hopefully not longer than two weeks.”
