Mount will miss Chelsea's crunch clash against Manchester City
Mason Mount will miss Chelsea’s crunch clash against Manchester City with minor injury but Thomas Tuchel welcomes back Edouard Mendy
- Chelsea will be without Mason Mount in the clash with Manchester City
- Edouard Mendy will return after missing Tottenham game through an injury
- Thomas Tuchel says the game is not a clash between him and Pep Guardiola
Chelsea will be without Mason Mount for Saturday’s clash with Manchester City but goalkeeper Edouard Mendy will return between the sticks.
Thomas Tuchel revealed Mount has not shaken off a minor injury he picked up against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
‘It’s too soon,’ Tuchel said. ‘He’s made huge progress but it’s not enough to be ready for 12.30 tomorrow’.
Mason Mount has not shaken off a minor injury and will miss clash with Manchester City
Edouard Mendy will be back for the lunch-time kick-off after missing the win over Tottenham
On whether that will alter Chelsea’s approach for the game, the manager added: ‘Yes and no, he’s very disappointed and I didn’t feel it during the match.
‘It happened in the second half and obviously he played through the injury and finished the game. He was even confident enough to take a penalty, an important penalty, in the shootout. So it was a bit of a surprise.
‘The steps for recovery he is doing right now, they’re huge. Maybe it’s even possible that he could have played if the game was one day later.
‘It’s a very minor injury but still it’s a disappointment for him and also for us because he is a player we count on. But it is always the same – no matter what importance Mason has, no matter how much we rely on him, the task is to find solutions now without him and bring him back as soon as possible.’
Christian Pulisic will also miss Saturday’s clash with title rivals City as he battles back towards full fitness but Chelsea can at least call on Mendy, who returns from injury and will replace Kepa Arrizabalaga at Stamford Bridge.
Victory would give Tuchel’s side a six-point advantage over City and would also make the German the first manager ever to win four straight matches against Pep Guardiola.
Christian Pulisic will miss out again this weekend as he battles back towards full fitness
Thomas Tuchel says the game on Saturday is not a clash between himself and Pep Guardiola
‘Not so long ago there were a lot of voices who told me I don’t know how to beat Pep. Anyway it’s not between me and him, we don’t play a match of tennis or chess tomorrow, we play with our teams and they compete against each other on a very high level,’ Tuchel said.
‘To believe you can do it is the most important thing in sports and at this kind of level, we have the belief we can do it… we know very well what it takes to have the possibility to win and I have the feeling that it does not take a miracle to win against Manchester City but it’s absolutely necessary to bring out the best performance.
‘This is tough enough. It’s one of the biggest tests in European football, the game is on tomorrow, it’s in our stadium and we feel ready. But let’s be honest, if we win we won’t be crowned as champions and if they win they won’t be crowned champions and us left in depression.’
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