'He's very disappointed' – Thomas Tuchel rules Chelsea duo out of Man City clash

Thomas Tuchel has ruled Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic out of Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Manchester City.

The Blues welcome English champions Man City to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon sitting joint-top of the table alongside Liverpool and Manchester City.

Tuchel’s European champions have taken 13 points out of a possible 15 so far this season and are three points ahead of Manchester City ahead of Saturday’s clash in west London.

Chelsea will once again be without Pulisic this weekend, and Tuchel revealed at his pre-match press conference on Friday that Mount will also be absent after suffering a minor injury during the midweek EFL Cup fixture against Aston Villa.

Tuchel said: ‘Christian Pulisic is still out. For Mason Mount it’s too soon. He has a little minor injury from the Aston Villa game. He made huge progress but tomorrow is too soon.

‘Mendy is available and will start tomorrow.’

On Mount’s absence, Tuchel added: ‘He is very disappointed and I didn’t feel it during the [Villa] match because it was the second half and he played through the injury.

‘He finished the game, he was even confident enough to take a penalty. So it was a surprise.

‘The steps he is taking are huge, maybe he could’ve played if the game was one day later.

‘So it’s a minor injury but there is disappointment because he’s a player we rely on but the task is to find solutions now and to bring him back as soon as possible.’

Tuchel failed to beat Pep Guardiola while the managers were in Germany but has got the better of the Spanish boss on three separate occasions since joining Chelsea, most notably in last season’s Champions League final.

‘Not so long ago there were a lot of voices that told me I don’t know how to beat Pep,’ Tuchel said when asked about his record against Guardiola. ‘If I look at it honestly I see the last three games as three 50/50 matches.

‘I’m not only talking about before the matches but during the matches it could have been any outcome. Little details decide and you need a bit of luck.

‘I expect nothing else than a 50/50 match tomorrow. We want to fight hard to be the guys who have a better outcome. We did it several times with this team and we know how much we suffered also in these matches.

‘I have the highest respect for Pep. I’m a huge admirer of the impact he has had. This is something I hugely admire and this will never change.

‘Look at the trophies, look at the influence. There is absolutely no reason why I should ask myself if I’m a better coach or not. I’m a better coach today than I was yesterday and this is enough.’

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