Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has told Football.London that Edouard Mendy will not play against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
The Blues will take on Villa at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.
Mendy did not play against Tottenham Hotspur in the London derby this past weekend due to injury.
Kepa Arrizabalaga played instead and kept a clean sheet, as Chelsea won 3-0.
Tuchel has said that Senegal international goalkeeper Mendy – who cost Chelsea £22 million in transfer fee, as reported by Sky Sports – will not play against Villa, but he could return for the Premier League game against Manchester City.
The Chelsea boss told Football.London: “Yes there will be some changes because we can give important minutes to guys who are missing them at the moment.
“Edou Mendy will not be fit. We hope to have him in individual training on Wednesday then group training on Thursday.”
Tuchel added about Mendy facing City: “Actually I think it is possible but it is a race against time.”
Boost for Aston Villa?
Mendy is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, and the Villa attackers might be encouraged to hear that they will not have him trying to stop them from scoring tomorrow.
Kepa has a reputation of making mistakes and is not as reliable as Mendy.
However, the 26-year-old Spain international did well against Spurs, and he will be determined to show Tuchel that he should be the number one between the posts.
It is probably going to make it harder for Villa, as they will face a goalkeeper who will know that he cannot afford to commit even a small error.
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