Okay, I know my views on the Europa League have seen me classify it as the poor cousin of the more lucrative Champions League, but I have a duty to report on everything Chelsea.
To that effect, I thought I’d cover the early team news that has emerged from the Chelsea camp for the Europa League fixture away to BATE Borisov.
It would appear that Maurizio Sarri has opted to take an under-strength Chelsea squad to Belarus for this fixture, opting to leave the following players back in London:
• Marco Alonso
• David Luiz
• Antonio Rudiger
and
• Alvaro Morata
Also missing is Cesc Fabregas who was unable to travel due to illness.
N’Golo Kante was also scheduled to remain in London but will now travel instead of Fabregas.
The decision to leave Alonso, Luiz and Rudiger behind will mean that Sarri could field the ‘wonky’ defence that looked so troubled by Derby County, in the Carabao Cup.
Some of the Chelsea support, including me, might be a little perplexed about the decision to leave Morata back in SW6, after all the Spaniard has scored 3 goals in Chelsea’s last 2 Premier League games, but Sarri, talking to the media at his pre-match press conference suggested he felt Morata would be better served resting and training after three consecutive games.
It’s a tough life being a footballer it would seem!