The Good News

Manager Thomas Tuchel may need to keep an eye on the Chelsea injury list as he makes his team selection for Saturday. The club has officially announced that their star midfielder Ngolo Kante and young defender Reece James have returned to training.

The French box-to-box midfielder had to isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 before Chelsea’s game against Manchester City. This also led to him missing out on international duty with France. This rest has allowed him to return his fitness at the Chelsea training ground.

As for James, he suffered an ankle injury while playing the match against City. After missing England’s two World Cup qualifier matches, the club has confirmed that he has left the swimming pool and joined his teammates on the pitch.

Reece and Kante at training

pic.twitter.com/eP59VBw8u2

— Chelsea FC USA (@ChelseaFCinUSA) October 12, 2021

The Not so Good News

The Blues still have some concerns going into the weekend. Their main centre half this season Antonio Rudiger had to sit out of Germany’s thrashing of North Macedonia.

Although German coach Hansi Flick said that Rudiger’s back injury was not serious, it will be something that Stamford Bridge will need to keep an eye on.

Another problem for Chelsea is their American winger, Christian Pulisic. The former Dortmund player has not featured much since the opening game of the season. This is mainly due to a positive Covid-19 test and an ankle injury. There is hope in the camp that he will return to training in the coming weeks.

Lastly, the Blues’ most expensive player, Romelu Lukaku was released from the Belgium national team camp last week. It is understood that the physical striker suffered a muscle injury.

Little is known about the injury but Chelsea will want him back in full health as soon as possible.

Chelsea players on international duty this week:

Thiago Silva: 100 Caps for Brazil.
Timo Werner: 2 goals for Germany.
Kai Havertz: 1 goal for Germany.
Romelu Lukaku: 1 goal for Belgium.
Ben Chilwell: 1 goal for England. pic.twitter.com/L84rNLWNag

— Kilekun (@kilekun__o) October 11, 2021

Tuchel will want to have his squad in shape as challenges newly-promoted Brentford in the league. The match will kick off at 17:30 on Saturday, 16th October in the Brentford Community Stadium.

To read more in-depth and up-to-date Premier League and international club football news, click here.

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Chelsea’s first game of the new Champions League campaign will kick off tomorrow evening in Stamford Bridge. The reigning champions face Zenit St Petersburg in what is an important week in the club’s season.

To read a preview for the match, click here – Chelsea v Zenit St Petersburg – Preview, Team News, Betting

Manager Thomas Tuchel has now spoken in a press conference as his team prepares for the game. He told the media that talismanic midfielder Ngolo Kanté and American wunderkind Cristian Pulisic will not be fit for the game.

Thomas Tuchel has ruled out N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic for tomorrow's match versus Aston Villa. #CHEAVL pic.twitter.com/KnCzbSzcDI

— Chelsea FC USA (@ChelseaFCinUSA) September 10, 2021

Kanté picked up his injury in the Blue’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool in Anfield before the international break. The 30-year-old hurt his ankle in a tackle with Fabinho after 40 minutes, this forced him off at halftime.

This is a major setback for the Frenchman as he is only just after coming back from a knock at the start of the season in the UEFA Super Cup final.

Pulisic sustained a knock in a USA national team match against Honduras. Similar to his French teammate, he ended up with an ankle injury after a strong collision with an opponent.

Neither player’s injuries seem too severe and they will probably be back on the pitch or the bench for Chelsea at the weekend.

Blues. pic.twitter.com/Jgn4hiALGG

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 12, 2021

Thankfully for Tuchel, he has no other injury worries in the squad. Midfielders Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi have fully recovered from small injuries they received last month and have been training with the squad for some time.

This is a busy week for the club as they face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, the boss will want a full squad to choose from as he goes into an important part of the season.

The post Chelsea injury update: Kanté and Pulisic still out appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The 12 players were decided by a voting system. The jury was made up of coaches from the 32 clubs and 55 journalists representing UEFA’s member associations.

The five players that were nominated for champions Chelsea were Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Antonio Rudiger, and N’Golo Kante.

This has been an unpredictably amazing year for Jorginho who struggled for game time at the start of the season. He has now become the driving force that won Chelsea a Champions League and Italy win the Euro 2020.

Many are claiming that the Italian maestro deserves to be in with a shout for the Balon d’Or award this year for his achievements.

Jorginho won summer pic.twitter.com/zTBBprkevb

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 11, 2021

Runners-up Manchester City who lost the final 1-0 to a Kai Havertz finish also has three players named on the list: Ederson, Ruben Dias, and Kevin De Bruyne.

The beaten semi-finalists Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain each have one player on the list, Thibaut Courtois and Kylian Mbappe.

Two Bundesliga strikers finished the list, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland. The young Norweigan forward finished as last years Champions League top goalscorer.

| Erling Haaland is nominated for the best forward award of the past Champions League season.#BVB pic.twitter.com/bmHdjwCeJp

— BVB Newsblog (@bvbnewsblog) August 13, 2021

Some notable exclusions from the nominees’ list are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar.

Messi finished in fourth place in the voting as Barcelona was knocked out by Chelsea in the quarter-finals. Ronaldo did not even manage to finish in the top 10 as Juventus crashed out to Porto in the quarters.

Neymar on the other hand was considered to not have made a major impact on PSG’s season. He did manage six goals and two assists for the club in nine games as he neglected to play in the French league.

The winners of the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward award will be announced at the Champions League group-stage draw in Istanbul in two weeks’ time.

List of nominees

Goalkeeper: Ederson (Man City), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid).

Defender: Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Cezar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Ruben Dias (Man City).

Attacker: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich).

Super Cup shoot-out drama in full

Kepa = Chelsea's hero @kepa_46 | #SuperCup pic.twitter.com/FxxlMay4uw

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 13, 2021

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If you missed the guide on full, backs, click here.

Midfielders make teams tick and are the creative vessels that connect defence and attack.

Some of the tournament’s best-ever players were midfielders, such as Cesc Fabregas.

Therefore, they are the most important part of your fantasy side too.

THIAGO ALCANTARA – SPAIN, €6m

First up, we have Spain’s Thiago Alcantara.

The Spaniard endured a tough start to life in Liverpool but came into his own as the side’s injuries cleared up.

At 30 years of age, he is in his prime and can lead Spain to glory with quarterback-like displays.

His passing is magnificent and opens teams up.

In addition to this, he controls the tempo of the game when he is in possession.

He was one of Spain’s best players in their stalemate against Portugal and will carry that form over to the 2020 UEFA European Championship.

Thiago is priced at €6m.

N’GOLO KANTÉ – FRANCE, €5.5m

Next on the list is N’Golo Kanté.

The Frenchman was superb for Chelsea in their 2021 UEFA Champions League run and he will be just as important for France this summer.

His importance is highlighted by his near-£50m market value, per Transfermarkt.

The five-foot-six midfielder will clean up everything in midfield

In addition, he will also look to get forward.

All that work will give him a large number of points on the game that you can be thankful for.

He is a steal, even at €5.5m.

FANTASY FOOTBALL FIND: PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG – DENMARK, €5.5m

The fantasy football find for midfield is Denmark’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

The Tottenham star was one of the club’s best player this season.

His strength in midfield was important to both Jose Mourinho and Ryan Mason throughout the season.

He screened the defence effectively and will do so for the Danes but has only been chosen by one per cent of players.

Expect some big performances from this man.

You can benefit from them for just €5.5m.

These three midfielders will excel both on the pitch and on your fantasy side.

The post Fantasy Football: The Best Midfielders For Your Euro 2020 Fantasy Team appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.