Chelsea FC manager Frank Lampard admits that he’s concerned about the current state of his team. And he definitely should be, given the current tailspin they’re in, and the fact that sacking speculation is mounting rapidly. He needs a win more than anybody right now, and fortunately for him, the next opponent is not very formidable.
The Blues will next take on Championship side Luton Town, welcoming them to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea FC vs Luton Town FA Cup 4th Round FYIs
Kickoff: Sun Jan 24, 12:00 GMT, Stamford Bridge
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
TV/Stream: BBC One/BBC iPlayer
Referee: David Coote
Team News
Two players missed out on the loss at Leicester City due to injury- striker Olivier Giroud and midfielder N’Golo Kante. One will be ready to go in this one, the other not quite yet.
“Olivier is fit,” confirmed Lampard at his news conference.
“He trained with us today and he’s fine for the weekend. N’Golo on the other hand is not fit and won’t be available. He’s working outside on his own with the physios at the moment and we hope to have him back as soon as possible.
“We will have to see with N’Golo, as we don’t want to rush him, but we hope to have him back by next week.”
It doesn’t sound like the fitness issue with Kante is too serious, so he’ll be back before too long. One player who definitely won’t feature is Fikayo Tomori, as the defender has now joined AC Milan, on loan, for the rest of the season.
Prediction: Chelsea 3, Luton Town 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.