Kerry Mayodi
Defending champions Chelsea host Swedish side Malmo on Wednesday in the third match of group H.
Chelsea are currently second in the group H table, with 1 win, against Zenit and 1 loss to Juventus last time out in the campaign.
Meanwhile Malmo are bottom of the group table, with no win and are yet to score a goal in the campaign. They will have to pull something special to go home with a point from the Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel’s side will enjoy a boost in defensive options with the return of Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva, who missed out last time the Blues were in action.
The two centre halves missed Saturday’s outing to Brentford, as the Blues edged a narrow 1-0 win but were back in training on Monday.
Rudiger picked up a minor injury while on international duty, while veteran Thiago Silva missed out on training ahead of the clash with Brentford after returning from national call-up on Friday afternoon.
Chelsea will miss the services of Christian Pulisic, who was absent on training on Tuesday, probably still nursing the ankle injury he picked up while playing for USMNT in September.
It remains unclear whether Romelu Lukaku will feature for the Blues as Tuchel has stated that he is “mentally tired” after being overplayed.
“I feel he is a bit mentally tired. For me, he’s overplayed. It’s difficult to judge if he needs a break, or is it better to keep him on the pitch?”
The Belgian left the international squad earlier this month with muscle fatigue.
Lukaku had a remarkable start after re-signing for Chelsea, scoring 4 goals in 4 games but is now six games without a goal.
