Chelsea missing key players as Arsenal gets three injury boosts for the League Cup semifinals

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger celebrating in a past match [Photo: Courtesy]

English Premier League defending champions Chelsea are heading into the League Cup second leg of their tie against London rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium with various absentees in their squad.  Chelsea coach Antonio Conte revealed in a press conference that the Spanish duo Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas will be unavailable for the Emirates clash which will be played tonight.

Fabregas is nursing harmstring injury while his compatriot Alvaro Morata is suffering from a back injury. Morata missed Chelsea’s game against the newly promoted side Brighton which champions demolished 4-0, and he could be set for prolonged stay outside the pitch due to the new injury setback.

While talking to the British press ahead of the game, the Italian also confirmed the probable absence of other players such as goal keeper Thibaut Courtois, Danny Drinkwater, and Gary Cahill who are not yet fit for the game.

Willy Caballero may continue to man the post for the blues after having impressive performances against Norwich City in the FA Cup match and against Brighton in the past weekend. Cahill’s void will be occupied by summer signing Antonio Rudiger who has also shown flashes of good performance.

This implies that Chelsea may have to deploy Michy Batshuayi upfront as the striker against Arsenal while Pedro Rodriguez and Willian who have also been benched for a while are expected to play the crucial game.

Arsenal will be looking forward for the return of their central defender Laurient Koscielny who is coming back from injury to pair with Mustafi. Ramsey is also expected to be back on the pitch for Arsene Wenger team.