With the Chelsea FC having a squad that is so close to being fully fit right now, we should expect to see manager Frank Lampard do a fair amount of squad rotation tomorrow night. Tuesday sees the Blues welcoming FC Krasnodar in for a UEFA Champions League group stage clash where this nothing but pride on the line.
And with festive period fixture congestion ahead, Lamps will likely hand out a lot of minutes to second teamers (Kepa Arizzabalaga, Callum Hudson-Odoi) in this one.
Chelsea FC vs Krasnodar UCL Group Stage FYIs
Kickoff: Tue. Dec 8, 8pm local, Stamford Bridge
Team news for both sides: go to this link
TV: BT Sport 3, Stream: BT Sport Monthly Pass
Form Guide: Chelsea WWDWW, Krasnodar WWLLW
We’ll also see some guys who only recently returned to full fitness and could really use the extra playing time right now, i.e. Christian Pulisic, Billy Gilmour and Kai Havertz. While this isn’t the most meaningful match as a whole, it’s going to be huge, individually, for all the guys who have something to prove, for one reason or another, to the manager.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs FC Krasnodar
Arrizabalaga; James, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Alonso; Gilmour, Kovacic, Havertz; Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Pulisic.
Prediction: Chelsea 4, Krasnodar 2
The Blues won the reverse fixture, handily by a score of 4-0, and despite what should be a heavily rotated side, expect the Blues to cruise again here. However, we’re also predicting Kepa gets the start, so we can’t in good faith predict a clean sheet.
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.