FA Cup showdown
The Blues are set to get their FA Cup campaign back underway on Sunday afternoon.
Lampard and co. will of course be heavy favourites to book their spot in the competition’s 5th-round, when they welcome Championship outfit Luton Town to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea, though, despite their favourites tag, will head into proceedings in search of a bounce-back result.
This comes with the capital giants of course in the midst of an altogether concerning spell of recent form.
After being deservedly put to the sword by 2 goals to nil at the King Power Stadium during the week, Chelsea slipped to a lowly 8th in the Premier League table, a full 11 points adrift of table-topping Manchester United.
Chelsea’s English head coach Frank Lampard gestures during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Chelsea at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on January 19, 2021. (Photo by Rui Vieira / POOL / AFP)
‘Won’t be available’
The Pensioners’ woes of late have of course seen the finger of blame pointed in a whole host of directions, with the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and manager Lampard having come in for criticism.
One, though, who, for the most part, has continued to perform at a characteristically high level throughout Chelsea’s dip, has been N’Golo Kante.
French midfielder Kante has continued to go about his business in the middle of the park in typically effective fashion, breaking up play, whilst looking neat and tidy in possession.
This, however, was only until a recent fitness issue picked up saw the former Leicester man confined to the sidelines, with Kante having now not featured in any of the club’s last 3 outings.
In turn, speaking during a press conference ahead of his side’s meeting with Luton, Frank Lampard was inevitably asked for an update on his star midfielder’s wellbeing.
The Blues boss, though, after first confirming that Olivier Giroud will be fit to feature on Sunday, ruled Kante out:
“N’Golo on the other hand is not fit and won’t be available. He’s working outside on his own with the physios at the moment and we hope to have him back as soon as possible. We will have to see, as we don’t want to rush him, but we hope to have him back by next week.” #CFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) January 23, 2021
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