Frank Lampard has ruled out seven Chelsea players for their Premier League fixture against Manchester City
Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard has confirmed that seven of his players won't feature in their Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday, May 21.
The likes of Benoit Badiashile, Mason Mount, and Kalidou Koulibaly are all out for the game at the Etihad on Sunday. Providing a squad update in a pre-match press conference, Lampard said (via Football.London):
"We're pretty much similar to where we have been recently. Mason [Mount], Reece [James], Chilly [Ben Chilwell], N'Golo [Kante] and Marc Cucurella are not fit."
He continued:
"Kouli [Kalidou Koulibaly] has been training this week but is not ready for a game like this. He is ahead of schedule, to be fair. Benoit injured his groin in training two days ago and will miss the game. We are assessing that as we speak."
Chelsea have had to deal with major injury issues throughout a dismal 2022-23 campaign. The likes of Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante, and Reece James have missed plenty of games.
Badiashile started in their previous two games, even scoring a goal in their 3-1 win over Bournemouth. However, he will be unavailable against Manchester City on Sunday.
Lampard didn't provide an update on Mateo Kovacic, who had to be subbed off during Chelsea's 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest on May 13. As per Football.London, he wasn't pictured in training either.
Chelsea face Manchester City as they hope to end the season on a high
The 2022-23 season has been nothing short of abysmal for the Blues. They spent over £600 million over two transfer windows under the new ownership led by Todd Boehly. However, poor results saw them sacking two managers - Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
Chelsea have won just one of their previous 11 games across competitions. They come into the game against Manchester City on the back of a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge against Nottingham Forest. Raheem Sterling scored a brace for the hosts while Taiwo Awoniyi also scored a brace for the visitors.
Manchester City, meanwhile, have been sensational across competitions. Their last defeat came back in February and they have since strengthened their position for a treble. In the Premier League, the Cityzens hold a four-point lead over Arsenal atop the table with a game in hand.
Manchester City come into the game on Sunday on the back of a stunning 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals second leg. They won the tie 5-1 on aggregate and will face Inter Milan in the final.
It will certainly be a monumental task if Chelsea are to take a positive result against Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad on Sunday.