It seems we’re in line for a Christian Pulisic 20/21 season debut on Saturday. Speaking on a livestream on Twitch, the recently turned age 22 American provided a fitness update on himself and it was very positive.
Ahead of the home Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace on Saturday, Pulisic said: “I’ll say that I’m feeling very good, and very ready to play. I’m missing it a lot.” (transcript Sports Illustrated). The young forward has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal on August 1.
Chelsea FC vs Crystal Palace FYIs
Kickoff: Sat Oct 3, 123o pm BST, 7:30 am EST, Stamford Bridge, London
TV: BT Sport (UK) Peacock (USA)
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Match Official: Michael Oliver
Odds via bet365: Chelsea win 2/5, Draw 4/1, Crystal Palace win 6/1
Originally, it was thought that Pulisic would miss the first week or two of the season, due to the issue, but then, as the season opener approached, he looked to be healing faster than expected. He then suffered another setback during training, and here we are, week four already.
Earlier this week, ahead of Chelsea’s crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, manager Frank Lampard said that Pulisic, as well as fellow attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech, were getting pretty close to full fitness.
It’s possible we could see Ziyech make his Chelsea and 20/21 debut here, but if so, it would almost certainly be off the bench. The same holds true for Pulisic, as they will be eased back into the team after recovery, and not expected to hit the ground running for a full 90 minutes.
Lampard also revealed that the club has a specialist training program for Pulisic, who has been injury prone the past couple of seasons. The only other selection issue is in midfield, where Billy Gilmour remains a long term injury absentee.
Also, in case you missed it, midfielder Ross Barkley has gone out on loan to Aston Villa for the season.
Final Score Prediction: Chelsea 3, Crystal Palace 2
Palace have looked pretty good this season, and they’ll be a tough opponent here, but Chelsea are in such need of a result here that one should be confident they’ll get it done.
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.