Chelsea have been given a huge advantage in their chase for Champions League knockout place | OneFootball

After a win on Sunday and a much needed day off, attentions at Chelsea are turning to tomorrow’s monster Champions League clash with Napoli.

Napoli without a host of players for Blues clash

Billy Gilmour picks up a groin injury.

Liam Rosenior’s team know that a win puts them in a great position to earn a top 8 spot, while a draw or a defeat likely rules out that possibility.

It’s a fun setup for a game against an interesting team at what should be a rocking stadium. There are some things working in the Blues’ favour too.

Chelsea have had some dreadful injury situations in the last couple of years, but this time it’s their Italian opposition who are struggling. Antonio Conte’s team are stripped to the bone. The Italian coach confirmed yesterday that winger David Neres had had surgery on an ankle issue, making him the latest to be certain to miss the game.

Napoli will also be missing goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. Long term absentees include Matteo Politano, Amir Rrahmani and Frank Anguissa. Former Blue Billy Gilmour, who we were excited to see again, had surgery on a groin issue in November and will also be out. Star summer signing Kevin de Bruyne is also out.

There is one player who could return, however – Romelu Lukaku played his first game since pre-season as a sub at the weekend. He won’t start, but we could see him as a sub.

In other news…

Aaron Anselmino has been recalled by Chelsea, with nobody yet quite sure what that means for his future. He was in tears at his departure from Dortmund,

Even at more than £100m, Moises Caicedo has proved to be a great signing for Chelsea. It should be no surprise that the Blues are watching another player with a similar profile and background to the Ecuador star.