Key parts of Chelsea’s starting XI for Tuesday’s second leg against Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly been revealed, despite an investigation being launched into the squad’s leaks. Chelsea suffered a disappointing 5-2 away performance to the reigning European champions last week, and the Blues will need to get over the mountain in the second leg.
Chelsea held the advantage towards the end of the first leg, but a late collapse allowed PSG to escape. This doesn’t bode well for Chelsea. Especially since the English side have failed to beat the Ligue 1 giants in their last five Champions League encounters with Premier League teams.
Of course, the Stamford Bridge side defeated PSG 3-0 in the Club World Cup final just a few months ago, but this scoreline ensured Chelsea remained in the competition. However, head coach Liam Rosenior seems to have another problem ahead of the second leg.
That’s because, according to reports from France, news has surfaced that Wesley Fofana will not be included in the starting XI. Fofana has started Chelsea’s last two games, both of which ended in defeat, but is said to be missing out on the starting XI.
According to a report in France’s Ons Mondial, Fofana will be moved to the bench and replaced by Trevaux Chalobah and Jorel Hato as the two centre-backs. The paper also claims that a last-minute decision will be made regarding right-back Maro Gusto’s condition after he came on as a substitute at half-time against Newcastle.
Given that the Chelsea manager had insisted after last week’s first leg that he would “get to the bottom” of the allegations of team information leaks, this would likely anger Rosenior if true. When asked about the situation, he said: “I didn’t know. If that’s the case, I’m sure the truth will come out.”
However, if Chelsea are eliminated from Europe and continue to languish in the Premier League, leaks of the club’s team news may not be a problem for Rosenior for too long. This is because Sky Sports Switzerland reports that if Chelsea fail to qualify for the Champions League, a change of manager could take place as early as the summer.
After their exploits in Europe, Chelsea’s next stint in the Premier League will be their first trip to Everton’s new stadium, while their first game back after the international break will be against Port Vale in the FA Cup. Chelsea are in 6th place in the Premier League, one point behind fifth-placed Liverpool.
