Mauricio Pochettino without NINE Chelsea stars for Carabao Cup tie vs Newcastle as Nkunku & Lavia roles outlined

Mauricio Pochettino will be without nine Chelsea stars for their Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Newcastle United.

Chelsea welcome Eddie Howe’s side to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night as both clubs look to progress into the last four, with Newcastle hoping to go one better this season after suffering final defeat last campaign.

Pochettino’s men come into the tie following a 2-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, which brought an end to a run of two straight defeats in the Premier League.

Djordje Petrovic made his full debut against Sheffield United amid Robert Sanchez’s absence. Petrovic is expected to continue in goal against the Magpies.

Marc Cucurella underwent ankle surgery over the weekend, while a decision on Reece James‘ fate is yet to be decided and will likely be confirmed in the coming days.

“At the moment no,” responded Pochettino, when asked if the Chelsea captain will undergo surgery. “We don’t know. Today is Monday, still time to see. We will see in the next few days and we will know the possibilities.”

Chelsea will have nine players out including Romeo Lavia, however he has been involved in partial training. Meanwhile, Christopher Nkunku, who was named on the bench on Saturday, could feature on Tuesday, but his minutes will be limited.

“How I see today? I tell you maybe he can play 20 minutes,” revealed Pochettino.

As confirmed by Chelsea in their pre-match injury report, here is the latest team news for Pochettino ahead of facing Newcastle, who they suffered a 4-1 defeat to last month in the Premier League.

Robert Sanchez – continuing to undergo specialist assessment.

Marc Cucurella – early stages of recovery following successful ankle surgery.

Reece James – continuing with early stages of rehabilitation.

Trevoh Chalobah – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.

Wesley Fofana – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.

Ben Chilwell – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.

Carney Chukwuemeka – continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme.

Lesley Ugochukwu – progressing with the reconditioning phase of his rehabilitation.

Romeo Lavia – in partial team training.

Noni Madueke – returned to full team training.