Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is reportedly set to rest both Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata in midweek, with Arsenal on Sunday in mind.
The Blues get their Champions League campaign underway against Qarabag at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, a game that they’re heavily favoured to win.
In turn, Conte is set to use it as an opportunity to rotate his squad, as per The Times, with Alvaro Morata likely to get a rest while he may decide not to risk Eden Hazard as he continues to reach full fitness after injury.
It seems like a sensible move on paper with Arsenal ahead, as the Gunners will travel to west London under pressure to avoid another heavy defeat to a direct rival.
When considering that Chelsea have now started a run of seven games in 21 days, it starts to make even more sense from the Italian tactician although he’ll have to get the balance right to avoid any slip ups, especially now that his side have bounced back well from their opening-day defeat to Burnley.
It’s bad news for Arsenal though as they don’t have fond memories of visiting their London rivals, and a fully fit and well rested duo of Morata and Hazard will undoubtedly cause them problems on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger will have his own decisions to make with Europa League football to consider on Thursday night, and so Conte may not be the only manager making changes.