Romelu Lukaku has been accepted at Chelsea and will be directly in the starting lineup in the EFL Cup against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening. The center forward has apologized both internally and publicly for his interview in Italy, which has settled the case for Thomas Tuchel. Chelsea must miss N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva due to corona. The match kicks off at 8.45pm at Stamford Bridge.
Hakim Ziyech also returns to the starting team of the Blues. The attacking midfielder has remained on the reserve bench for the past three games, although there were signs that the former Ajax player was struggling with minor complaints. Ziyech seems to occupy the two positions behind Lukaku together with Kai Havertz. Tuchel shifts quite a bit with his usual line-up, which looks remarkably offensive.
Should Chelsea operate in the usual 3-4-2-1 formation, the controlling bloc in midfield is likely to be Mason Mount and Jorginho. Saúl Ñíguez appears to be the wingback on the right, while Marcos Alonso will be on the left. The three-man defense apparently consists of César Azpilicueta, Antonio Rüdiger and Malang Sarr. In goal, Kepa Arrizabalaga is once again preferred over Édouard Mendy.
On the side of Tottenham Hotspur, Antonio Conte is making fewer changes. Such is the vanguard of the Spurs from the eye-catchers Lucas Moura, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. The usual midfield with Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg and Oliver Skipp is also kept intact. On the left, Sergio Reguilón is replaced by Matt Doherty, while Eric Dier gives way to Japhet Tanganga in the center back.
Chelsea lineup: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Sarr; Saul íguez, Mount, Jorginho, Alonso; Havertz, Ziyech; lukaku.
Tottenham Hotspur line-up: loris; Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies; Emerson Royal, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Doherty; Lucas Moura, Kane, Son.