Chelsea will make the trip to the Netherlands in the hope to secure back to back away wins in the Champions League against Ajax on Wednesday night at the Johan Cryuff Arena.
Having overcome a few struggles at the start of the season, 41-year-old Frank Lampard and his young Chelsea side have hit the ground running. The West London side has won their last five matches across all competitions, including four of their last five games in England’s top flight.
Unfortunately for the Premier League side, Chelsea is still without Ross Barkley for the trip to Amsterdam after the English midfielder picked up an ankle injury in the 1-0 win over Newcastle during the weekend at Stamford Bridge.
The 25-year-old Barkley joins N’Golo Kante on the sidelines after the Frenchman sustained a groin injury on international duty with the French national team.
German central defender Antonio Rudiger remains out despite training with the squad on Tuesday, while Emerson Palmieri is closing in on a return but has not traveled with the squad to the Netherlands.
Chelsea will be hoping to solidify their spot in the top two of the Group Stages to progress into the next round of the European competition. Lampard’s team suffered a loss against Valencia on the opening day of the Champions League but held on to a victory against Lille in France.
Chelsea Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Tomori, Zouma, Alonso; Kovacic, Jorginho; Hudson-Odoi, Mount, Pulisic; Abraham
