Kai Havertz is reportedly likely to lead the line for Chelsea again when they host Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Goal claim the German international ‘remains well placed’ to start against the Spanish side in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final encounter.
Havertz to remain up front
Havertz has become Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice attacker following a string of goals ahead of the international break.
The 22-year-old scored six times in eight games before jetting off with his national team, where he netted in Germany’s 2-0 win over Israel.
He did hit a blank on the weekend, however, as Chelsea succumbed to a pretty shocking 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Brentford.
VAR denied Havertz his 12th in all competitions this season after spotting a handball in the build-up to the goal.
Whilst not many of Tuchel’s men covered themselves in glory on Saturday, the former Bayer Leverkusen forward will apparently keep his place when Madrid make the trip to London.
If this is the case, Romelu Lukaku will have to accept a place on the substitute bench once again.
Rotten times for Romelu
Lukaku has only started three of the last ten games for Chelsea, largely playing back up to Havertz.
Chelsea’s club-record signing cannot rediscover the form he enjoyed during the early stages of the campaign, where he was largely tipped as the final piece in Tuchel’s puzzle.
It seems the Belgian is actually a square peg in a round hole, with the manager opting to leave him out rather than work around the striker.
This is not exactly an ideal situation for a player who cost nearly £100m, especially with the World Cup fast approaching.
Minutes are extremely valuable at this stage of the term, particularly for those who might want to move on in the summer.
Opportunities for Lukaku to put himself in the shop window are running out.
Personally thwarting Madrid would certainly help regain some wanted attention.
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