Predicted Chelsea lineup against PSG: Neto to return; James ruled out

Pedro Neto will return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Chelsea will attempt to overturn a three-goal deficit and secure a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals when they host Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge for the round of 16 second leg on Tuesday night. Liam Rosenior has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Reece James is the latest absentee after sustaining a hamstring injury. The captain has joined Filip Jorgensen (groin) and Levi Colwill (knee) in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens face late tests to determine their availability. Additionally, Rosenior is sweating over Malo Gusto’s fitness due to an illness.

Mykhailo Mudryk continues his suspension after failing a doping test several months ago.  However, Pedro Neto is available after missing the Premier League clash with Newcastle United this past weekend. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Rosenior provided fitness updates on James, Gusto, and Estevao.

“With Reece, he felt something in his hamstring at end of the game vs Newcastle. That’s really frustrating and disappointing for us and we don’t know the full extent of that just yet but it rules him out of tomorrow’s game. It could be [a few weeks out]. With a hamstring injury, it’s never great. Hopefully, we can get him scanned, find out the extent and then we will know more.”

“Obviously, we know what an important player he is, what an important leader he is in the group as our captain. Elsewhere, Malo is ill today. We’ll have a look at him for tomorrow and make a call on him. Estevao is back in training. He will be part of the group and we’ll assess whether he can take part in the game at some point tomorrow. With Filip Jorgensen, he felt something in his groin after the PSG game. We are getting him scanned to find out the full extent of that injury.”

Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against PSG on Tuesday. The backline will feature Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella. However, Josh Acheampong will start as the right-back if Gusto is not fit and available to take on PSG.

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Andrey Santos and Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for the home side against Paris Saint-Germain, with Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer being the two wide attackers.

Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro