With Chelsea having already secured a Champions League place, there seems less need to take a gamble on the fitness of players.
Boss Thomas Tuchel said before the FA Cup final against Liverpool that it was “a time to take risks” – and Mateo Kovacic was duly patched up to play.
With Kovacic still struggling with an ankle problem, he now looks unlikely to feature in this evening’s game against Leicester at Stamford Bridge.
The same applies to Kai Havertz, who missed the cup final with a hamstring strain and was due to train on Wednesday afternoon, but seems likely to be on the bench at most.
Timo Werner also sat out the cup final because of a hamstring problem – and Tuchel has ruled him out.
N’Golo Kante came on as a substitute against Liverpool and could be involved, but Tuchel might well want to allow Ruben Loftus-Cheek a chance to play.
Loftus-Cheek has been in good form and, with penalties in mind, Tuchel took him off near the end of extra time at Wembley, just 14 minutes after bringing him on. Another run-out against the Foxes seems likely.
Expected Chelsea line-up: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso, Pulisic, Mount, Lukaku.
