Mauricio Pochettino is anticipated to alter his starting lineup several times when Blackburn Rovers visits for the Carabao Cup. Last Saturday, the Blues lost to Brentford in the Premier League due to a lackluster offensive display, which Pochettino and his team will be looking to improve this evening.
Since the previous season, Chelsea has struggled with goalkeeping, and the summer acquisition of Nicolas Jackson hasn’t made much of a difference. The Frenchman scored 23 goals for RB Leipzig in all competitions last season, so his absence due to a knee injury is also a major setback.
With four clean sheets in seven games from January to March of 2023, the Blues were able to gain some points in the early going of 2023 despite their dearth of goals. But Chelsea’s inability to score has frequently resulted in losses; this season, Brentford has won at Stamford Bridge along with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
After missing the previous six months due to injury, Benoit Badiashile—who played a significant role in the latter months of Graham Potter’s reign—looks likely to start against Blackburn. He will be joined by another star who is recovering from injury.
“I can confirm he [Reece James] is going to start,” Pochettino revealed ahead of the game. “The captain is ready, which is good for the team and good for him to start from the beginning of the game and we will check on him and see how he’ll perform.” James has made some appearances off the bench, although he has not started a game since the Premier League opener against Liverpool.
With those two names expected to be in the starting XI, Robert Sanchez has hinted he will keep his place in goal by posting a pre-match graphic to his Instagram story, suggesting he will be involved. The Carabao Cup is often used as a chance to rotate the usual starting XI with minutes being
With Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy both departing the west Londoners in the summer, Sanchez was the clear No.1 with Dorde Petrovic later signed. Sanchez has made a number of errors in recent weeks, most notably against Arsenal with his misguided pass out from the back resulting directly in a goal, which have left supporters disgruntled and demanding a change in goal.