One player will start for Chelsea against Newcastle United tomorrow, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino’s confirmation.
During the pregame press conference, he declared that Reece James will lead the team and receive the starting nod when the Premier League resumes this weekend.
When the season resumes following yet another hiatus for international matches, Chelsea supporters will be hopeful that their team continues precisely where it left off.
They defeated Tottenham and Manchester City in both of their games prior to the break, taking four points and scoring eight goals.
Several players performed well in those games; Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling stood out in especially.
But it’s safe to conclude that the Blues have improved since James returned to the starting lineup, as seen by the improvement in play over that period.
James will start against Newcastle.
When questioned if James was ready to play 90 minutes yet, Pochettino confirmed that James would be among those starting at St. James’ Park tomorrow, even though he was keen to keep things under wraps.
“We’ll see” (whether he can play for ninety minutes), he said. He’s performing admirably and at a very high calibre. You now know that there will be one participant.
James has not been risked by Pochettino for ninety minutes since his return from injury, as everyone is eager for him to avoid being hurt again.
Malo Gusto has benefited from this by being able to continue playing off the bench after having a run of starts for the most of the current season.
Although he was apparently hurt prior to the start of the international break, he has been seen in training without any knee braces, which should indicate that he is also totally recovered.