Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea may not have been active in the transfer window this month like many expected, but the squad he will have available to face Liverpool could well be very different to that of recent weeks. Despite not making any incoming transfers this month it has been a largely positive period.
The Blues have won three of the five matches played in 2024, losing just one – though that was to Middlesbrough and over half the games this year have been against Championship opposition – and look much improved. For Pochettino it has also come without one of his key players being available.
Much like the preceding six months of his Chelsea reign, the Argentine has been frustrated at the lack of opportunities to play Christopher Nkunku. Having made his debut shortly before Christmas, appearing in four games ahead of the New Year, Nkunku has been absent for the past four weeks.
He picked up a hip injury in training that has kept him out of five games now, but for the biggest test in the past two months he is set to return. “I think it is good news, Malo Gusto and Christoph [Nkunku] can be in the squad for tomorrow,” Pochettino said of his side’s fitness ahead of the game.
“Travel with us, with the team, that is good news. We will see. We will wait for the last moment, but at the moment, yes, it’s good news to have two players recovered.”
The French pair have been impressive when available this season but the frustration has often been just how little football they have been able to play. Gusto has had a better run in the side but even that has been disrupted by knocks along the way.
