Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has shared that one of his players will face a late check before Bournemouth and he’s not decided if he’ll start Sunday’s match.
Chelsea complete their 2023/24 season this weekend by playing at home to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
If the Blues avoid defeat on the final day, they’ll secure European qualification during a campaign that’s been far from easy.
Hopefully, Chelsea can finish their season by making it a fifth consecutive win. This excellent run to close the term has seen them beat Tottenham, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Brighton in succession.
Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t know if Chelsea man can start
Mauricio Pochettino shared in Friday’s pre-match press conference for the Bournemouth match that Christopher Nkunku will need a late check on Saturday before determining if he can start Sunday.
The 26-year-old Blues attacker is only recently back from a hamstring injury, coming off the bench in the previous three matches. In fact, he replaced the concussed Mykhailo Mudryk during the first-half of Wednesday’s win over Brighton to get some good minutes in his legs.
When asked if Nkunku will start on Sunday, Pochettino said via Football.London: “Because I think he played more than we expected because of the problem with Mudryk, he played 70 minutes. More than we planned. We will assess him tomorrow if he can start.
“90 minutes is hard for him to play after playing on Wednesday. We don’t need to take risks. We will take the best decision for him, first, and then the team. We cannot take the risk. He needs to finish well with good feelings, and start pre-season like Reece James.”
Don’t risk Christopher Nkunku
Based on comments from the Chelsea head coach, Nkunku’s fitness shouldn’t be risked on the final day of the season.
The forward’s only played 13 times during a frustrating debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, so it makes no sense to take a gamble on Sunday.
Instead, Raheem Sterling is a reasonable replacement for Mudryk on the left wing at home to Bournemouth.