Chelsea duo are doubts for London derby vs Tottenham, including ‘brilliant’ midfielder
Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane has provided an update on the fitness of two of his key players ahead of his side’s London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs know that a point at Stamford Bridge will likely be enough to keep them up after West Ham United fell to a defeat at St James’ Park on Sunday.
While Chelsea have not won a league game for well over two months, they will be motivated to hand their rivals a big blow and salvage some pride after a difficult season.
Tottenham have been boosted by the return of Guglielmo Vicario, but seven of their senior men remain out of action.
Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill are touch-and-go for Chelsea vs Tottenham
Romeo Lavia missed the FA Cup final against Manchester City due to a knock, but Calum McFarlane suggested that the midfielder was only left out as a precaution.
He told Football.London: “Romeo picked up a slight knock in the build-up to the game. Nothing major. But with Romeo, I didn’t want to take that risk. He didn’t want to take that risk. I thought he was brilliant in the games that he did play, in the same way Levi did. But you just have to be careful with players like that.”
Meanwhile, McFarlane said about Colwill on Monday: “We need to be careful with Levi. He’s obviously off the back of a very serious injury and has performed well in those two games. We’ll see how he looks today, how he reports, and we’ll make a decision on that.”
Chelsea does not have any other major injury worries apart from the midfielder and the centre-back, with Jamie Gittens being the only other senior player currently on the treatment table.
De Zerbi shuts down talk of Spurs wake-up call
While his side may now be in the driver’s seat to stay up at West Ham’s expense, De Zerbi has made it clear that he is not counting the chickens before they hatch.
When asked on Monday if the Lilywhites’ flirting with relegation this season has proven to be a real wake-up call, the Tottenham boss noted that his side is not safe just yet.
De Zerbi remarked that no point comes easily in the Premier League and that his players need to show fight to get over the line.
