Ucl: Chelsea-Roma : match preview and probable lineups

18 ott 2017

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea welcome Eusebio Di Francesco’s Roma for a Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge tonight with both sides looking to bounce back from weekend defeats to Crystal Palace and Napoli respectively.

TEAM NEWS:

Conte has hinted Álvaro Morata will return for the tie having missed Saturday’s shock defeat. Victor Moses has yet to train since exiting Selhurst Park after 40 minutes with a hamstring injury. Midfielders N’Golo Kanté and Danny Drinkwater will not participate in as Chelsea look to make it three successive wins in the Champions League. Roma could be boosted by the presence of midfielder Kevin Strootman and forward Stephan El Shaarawy following their absence against Napoli. Greek centre-back Kostas Manolas is likely to be unavailable for this one following a muscle tear sustained at the weekend. Patrik Schick has a hamstring injury and Grégoire Defrel has a thigh injury. Luca Pellegrini is a doubt whilst the clash will come too soon for Brazilian left-back Emerson.

PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UPS:

Chelsea (3-4-2-1) Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Zappacosta, Bakayoko, Fabregas, Alonso; Pedro, Hazard; Morata.

Roma (4-5-1) Alisson; Peres, Fazio, Jesus, Kolarov; Florenzi, Nainggolan, De Rossi, Pellegrini, Perotti; Džeko.

By Kieran Hepworth