Joomsport

  The Blues have made a strong start to their top-flight campaign. Victories were recorded over Crystal Palace and Arsenal while a battling 1-1 draw was earned at Liverpool last time out despite Thomas Tuchel's side having ten men for the entirety of the second period. The expectation is Chelsea secure three points today but they will have to do so without N'Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic, both of whom are currently ruled out due to ankle injuries. Thiago Silva has been cleared to play after Brazil dropped plans to impose a five-day ban on the centre-back following extensive talks between FIFA and the respective associations. Premier League clubs made a collective decision not to release players if it meant them travelling to red-list countries as they would face ten days of quarantine on their return. As always, we'll have full coverage of today's game. Our Chelsea correspondents Adam Newson and Scott Trotter are at the game at Stamford Bridge and will detail all the...

Chelsea face the prospect of losing a quartet of influential stars for their Premier League contest against Aston Villa on Saturday. The international interlude has certainly provided plenty of highs for Thomas Tuchel’s squad. However, the Blues boss won’t be best pleased by the damage done to some of his players. Romelu Lukaku  revealed  after Belgium’s World Cup qualifying win yesterday, incidentally the striker’s 100 th  cap, that he was going to have a scan on a thigh problem. Chelsea’s walking wounded Lukaku will join N’Golo Kante on the treatment table. The influential midfielder is recovering from damage to his ankle. Kante picked up the knock during Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool. The injury forced him to come off at half-time. He was still selected by France manager Didier Deschamps for national team service, yet was deemed unable to play following further assessment of the injury. Kai Havertz is also a doubt for the weekend’s fixture as he overcomes a flu bug...

  Arsenal spent over £100million in the summer transfer window but Mikel Arteta did not get all of his top targets. Ben White was the biggest signing, arriving in a £50m move from Brighton. Martin Odegaard also made his loan move permanent as he quit Real Madrid. However, the Gunners' main problem area this season has been up front as they have not scored a single goal in their opening three league matches. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette continue to draw blanks and Arteta wanted a new forward before the window shut. The north Londoners put out the feelers to Chelsea, who were looking to offload Tammy Abraham. Thomas Tuchel gave the green light for the England international to link up with Jose Mourinho's Roma after Romelu Lukaku arrived at Stamford Bridge.

 Paul Merson has expressed his bemusement over his former club Arsenal and Manchester United's failure to try and sign Saul Niguez in the summer. On Tuesday, Saul completed a deadline day loan move to Chelsea to bolster Thomas Tuchel's already-stacked midfield options. Tuchel now has Saul, Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante and Jorginho battling for the two central midfield spots in his current 3-4-3 system. Meanwhile, Arsenal have endured a dismal start to the new season, and Man United have shown signs of evident weakness in the middle of the park. In his latest Daily Star column, Merson hailed Chelsea for signing Saul but questioned why Arsenal and Man United didn't show concrete interest in his services. The Hammers' hefty valuation fended off interest this summer, but Rice is Solskjaer's priority midfield target, and many expect a pursuit next summer. United could battle with Chelsea for the 22-year-old's signature at the end of the season, with Saul's pre...

 Chelsea have handed Ross Barkley, Malang Sarr and Lewis Baker squad numbers for the 2021/22 campaign despite the trio facing uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge. Barkley, a £15million signing from Everton in January 2018, was free to leave the Blues during the summer transfer window if the right offer was received by Chelsea. However, no club was able to strike a deal for the midfielder, who started back-to-back games for England just two years ago. Earlier this summer, Barkley lost the No.8 shirt he claimed following his move from Everton to Mateo Kovacic and wasn't handed a new squad number. However, after Chelsea submitted their Champions League squad to UEFA, it's been confirmed he will wear the No.18 shirt should he get onto the pitch. Malang Sarr, meanwhile, has been assigned 31. The French defender was close to completing a deadline day loan move to Bundesliga side Greuther Furth, even going as far to fly to Germany for a medical. Yet it collapsed late on and he's ...

 Xavier Mbuyamba enjoyed his very first training session with the Chelsea seniors yesterday, almost a year after he became a Blue. A watchful fan spotted the defender in the background of Saul Niguez’s opening day with his new teammates. Mbuyamba has yet to truly stamp his mark upon Chelsea after joining from Barcelona last August. A wonderful prospect, who’s been likened to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, the move looked promising for all parties involved. But repeated injuries and fitness issues have held the 19-year-old back, to the extent some would be excused for forgetting he was still at the club. Yet, the young Dutchman finally made his Chelsea debut in April, coming off the bench in an U23s fixture against Southampton. Tuchel is making quite a habit of promoting youngsters from the academy to rub shoulder with his celebrity stars. He recently included Harvey Vale in training, another Cobham talent who Chelsea value highly. Levi Colwill, Tino Livramento, Lewis Bate and Tino An...