'Should be playing', 'Why?': Some Chelsea fans react as 27-year-old is named on bench vs Tottenham
Mateo Kovacic has dropped down to the bench for tonight’s cup tie against Tottenham – and some Blues fans on Twitter are worried he’s not in the starting line-up.
German manager Thomas Tuchel has decided to make six changes to his starting XI for Wednesday night’s showdown against London rivals Spurs at Stamford Bridge. They’ll certainly be hoping to make the most of home advantage in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final contest.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz are the five players that started in the weekend’s draw with Liverpool to retain their positions in the XI.
Click here for the full official line-up vs Spurs.
Chelsea fans anxious about Kovacic decision
A selection of Blues supporters on social media believe it’s a big risk not to play Kovacic from the start tonight.
The 27-year-old midfielder was brilliant in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool a few days ago, scoring a stunning volley from the edge of the box. However, he’s only an option from the bench tonight against Spurs.
With N’Golo Kante missing from the squad, it’ll be a new-look midfield that takes to the field at the Bridge.
Thankfully, senior central midfielder Jorginho is back in the line-up to try bring some control. It looks like he’ll be joined by either Mount or Saul as a midfield partner based on the team announcement.
In fairness, Kovacic has played a few games now since returning from a break caused by injury and illness. Tuchel seems to be opting for the safe approach by not overloading his workload, though.
Here are some Chelsea fans discussing the Croatian:
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