Chelsea will have to be at their very best on Wednesday if they are to overcome a much-improved Tottenham Hotspur side in the English League Cup.

Antonio Conte has quickly but surely started to impose his expertise on Spurs and as if that wasn’t difficult enough for Thomas Tuchel, it seems as though the Stamford Bridge side will have to contend with a number of injuries and absences.

In defence Chelsea are still without Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Cesar Azpilicueta. As such, we’re likely to see a back three of Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Malanga Sarr. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Marcos Alonso should take up the wing-back roles for this game.

In midfield, Tuchel is still likely to be without N’Golo Kante, which means a duo of Mateo Kovacic and Saul Niguez, with Mason Mount playing in a more advanced position.

The Chelsea manager is likely to stick with Romelu Lukaku after his goal at the weekend, with a much-improved Hakim Ziyech playing off him in a similar No.10 role to Mount,

How Chelsea could line up against Tottenham in League Cup