Chelsea FC manager Frank Lampard is expected to make wholesale changes tomorrow night from the team which came back to salvage a point at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Down 3-0 at half, the Blues eventually woke up in the second half, and found a way to manage a draw against a newly promoted side operating on a payroll that is a very small fraction of Chelsea’s.
Lampard said there was blame to go around, but he was definitely not happy with the performances of left back Marcos Alonso and central defender Thiago Silva.
Chelsea FC at Tottenham Hotspur Carabao Cup 4th Round FYIs
Kickoff Tues Sept 28, 7:45 pm BST
How to watch: go here
Tottenham team news, Starting XI Prediction: go here
The next match is here already, and it’s a fourth round League Cup London derby. One can expect Ben Chilwell to make his first start in a Chelsea shirt after making his Blues debut in last week’s third round win demolishing of Barnsley.
However, summer signing Hakim Ziyech (knee) and Captain America Christian Pulisic (hamstring) are still on the shelf for this one. Regarding Pulisic, Lampard revealed Friday in his prematch press conference that the club has a specialist training program for the 22-year-old.
However, the biggest news from his media opportunity today surrounds demoted goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Although he’s the most expensive shotstopper in history, he’s performed poorly on a consistent basis, and the club went out and got a new goalie in Edouard Mendy this month.
Expect the new acquisition to start here, but Lampard says Kepa’s time at the southwest London club isn’t completely over just yet.
“I certainly won’t go to the point of [saying] he’s played his last game for Chelsea,” Lampard said.
“I think it has been a difficult time for Kepa. That’s been well documented. I know it, he knows it, but we certainly shouldn’t jump to that conclusion.”
“Also, [something] which I felt quite strongly about in the last week, is to understand that Kepa is a young man and an awful lot of the highlight or spotlight on him has become slightly unfair.
“I have to protect him because I know he is a good lad and playing with absolute professionalism and intent to do the best he can, as all the squad have done. That’s all I want to say about him now.”
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction:
Mendy, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Rudiger, Chilwell; Jorginho, Barkley, Mount; Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek, Abraham
Prediction: Chelsea 3, Tottenham 2
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.