Chelsea: Why Joao Pedro, Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto miss out against Tottenham | OneFootball

Blues without key pair for crunch derby fixture

Joao Pedro, Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto have all missed out on a place in Chelsea’s squad to face Tottenham.

The trio were absent from the squad for this evening’s Premier League London derby when the line-ups were announced before kick-off.

Sources have told Standard Sport that Joao Pedro is absent due to a knock. It is also understood that Gusto has a knock that keeps him out.

Colwill, meanwhile, has made only two starts and three appearances since returning from a serious knee injury that kept him out for all of the season until the beginning of the month.

He has been left out against Spurs due to load management, as Chelsea aim to be careful with his staggered return to ensure he does not suffer any further injury.

It means there are rare league starts for Josh Acheampong, Liam Delap and Andrey Santos against Tottenham.

Chelsea can still qualify for the Champions League if they beat Spurs and Sunderland on Sunday but need plenty of results to go their way. They could qualify for the Europa League or the Conference League instead.

Joao Pedro’s absence comes just a day after he was left devastated when Carlo Ancelotti left him out of Brazil’s squad for this summer’s World Cup.