It’s FA Cup weekend and Chelsea get the fourth round festivities started with a trip up to Hull City. The Tigers are among the best teams in the second division — currently fourth — and there’s added narrative pressure with Liam Rosenior returning to face the club where he played for five years and would also get his start as a full-time head coach just a few years ago.
With a full week to follow to rest and recover for the next match, Rosenior could opt to rotate the squad a bit less than usual for such
a game. That may be a risky move … but perhaps less risky than trusting the non-first-choice players, who have not performed as consistently as we would’ve liked this season.
Reece James, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Roméo Lavia all trained today (Thursday) in some capacity, so there’s hope that they will be available for selection and at least partial match-action tomorrow. Marc Cucurella has been ruled out, joining Dário Essugo, Jamie Gittens, and Levi Colwill on the sidelines. The status of backup goalkeeper Filip Jörgensen remains a mystery (though not as much of a mystery as the whereabouts of Gaga Slonina); Teddy Sharman-Lowe has been serving as the backup of late.
